Photon
Job Description
Key Responsibilities: Lead Node.js API Development:
Design, implement, and optimize scalable RESTful APIs using
Node.js
and
Express.js
(or similar frameworks). Architect API systems for maximum scalability, resilience, and performance. Ensure that APIs are modular, reusable, and easy to maintain. Integrate with third-party services, databases, and other internal systems.
Resilience Engineering:
Apply principles of
resilience engineering
to design APIs that gracefully handle failures and continue to perform under stress. Implement
retry logic, circuit breakers , and
rate-limiting
to ensure the APIs can withstand transient failures. Use techniques such as
load balancing, failover mechanisms , and
distributed architectures
to improve fault tolerance.
Monitoring & Observability:
Set up and maintain real-time
monitoring and alerting
using tools like
Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, Datadog, or New Relic . Ensure comprehensive
logging, tracing , and
metrics
collection (e.g., through
OpenTelemetry ,
Jaeger , or
Zipkin ) to provide visibility into system health. Proactively identify bottlenecks or performance issues and implement optimizations. Collaborate with the DevOps team to ensure system health and visibility across all environments.
API Security:
Implement security best practices for API development (e.g.,
OAuth2 ,
JWT tokens ,
rate limiting ,
IP whitelisting , and
API gateways ). Regularly perform code reviews and audits to ensure security vulnerabilities are mitigated.
Team Leadership & Collaboration:
Lead and mentor a team of Node.js developers, providing technical guidance, code reviews, and career development. Drive adoption of best practices in API development, monitoring, and resilience across the team. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including front-end developers, DevOps, and QA to deliver high-quality software. Participate in sprint planning, backlog grooming, and retrospectives to ensure the team is aligned and focused on the right goals.
Continuous Improvement:
Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and frameworks that can improve development efficiency, monitoring capabilities, or resilience. Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the development team. Ensure the team adopts DevOps practices and that software is fully automated for CI/CD pipelines.
Skills & Qualifications: Essential:
5+ years of experience in
Node.js
development, with at least 2+ years of experience in a leadership role. Strong expertise in designing and building
RESTful APIs
using Node.js. Experience in building
highly available, fault-tolerant systems
that can handle production-level traffic. Proficiency in
monitoring and observability
tools (e.g.,
Prometheus ,
Grafana ,
ELK stack ,
Datadog ,
New Relic ). Experience with
resilience patterns
such as
circuit breakers ,
retry logic , and
rate limiting . Deep understanding of
API security
best practices (OAuth2, JWT, API Gateways, etc.). Experience with
cloud platforms
(AWS, GCP, Azure) and
serverless architectures . Familiarity with
CI/CD
pipelines and tools (Jenkins, GitLab, CircleCI, etc.). Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex distributed systems. Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
Desirable:
Experience with
containerization
and
orchestration
tools like
Docker
and
Kubernetes . Familiarity with
microservices architecture
and
event-driven systems . Experience working with
NoSQL
and
relational databases
(MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.). Knowledge of
automated testing
and frameworks for Node.js (Mocha, Chai, Jest). Familiarity with
Infrastructure as Code
(e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation). Knowledge of
distributed tracing
and
service meshes
(e.g.,
Istio ,
Linkerd ).
Compensation, Benefits and Duration
Minimum Compensation: USD 46,000 Maximum Compensation: USD 161,000 Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role. Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees. This position is available for independent contractors No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post.
Key Responsibilities: Lead Node.js API Development:
Design, implement, and optimize scalable RESTful APIs using
Node.js
and
Express.js
(or similar frameworks). Architect API systems for maximum scalability, resilience, and performance. Ensure that APIs are modular, reusable, and easy to maintain. Integrate with third-party services, databases, and other internal systems.
Resilience Engineering:
Apply principles of
resilience engineering
to design APIs that gracefully handle failures and continue to perform under stress. Implement
retry logic, circuit breakers , and
rate-limiting
to ensure the APIs can withstand transient failures. Use techniques such as
load balancing, failover mechanisms , and
distributed architectures
to improve fault tolerance.
Monitoring & Observability:
Set up and maintain real-time
monitoring and alerting
using tools like
Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, Datadog, or New Relic . Ensure comprehensive
logging, tracing , and
metrics
collection (e.g., through
OpenTelemetry ,
Jaeger , or
Zipkin ) to provide visibility into system health. Proactively identify bottlenecks or performance issues and implement optimizations. Collaborate with the DevOps team to ensure system health and visibility across all environments.
API Security:
Implement security best practices for API development (e.g.,
OAuth2 ,
JWT tokens ,
rate limiting ,
IP whitelisting , and
API gateways ). Regularly perform code reviews and audits to ensure security vulnerabilities are mitigated.
Team Leadership & Collaboration:
Lead and mentor a team of Node.js developers, providing technical guidance, code reviews, and career development. Drive adoption of best practices in API development, monitoring, and resilience across the team. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including front-end developers, DevOps, and QA to deliver high-quality software. Participate in sprint planning, backlog grooming, and retrospectives to ensure the team is aligned and focused on the right goals.
Continuous Improvement:
Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and frameworks that can improve development efficiency, monitoring capabilities, or resilience. Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the development team. Ensure the team adopts DevOps practices and that software is fully automated for CI/CD pipelines.
Skills & Qualifications: Essential:
5+ years of experience in
Node.js
development, with at least 2+ years of experience in a leadership role. Strong expertise in designing and building
RESTful APIs
using Node.js. Experience in building
highly available, fault-tolerant systems
that can handle production-level traffic. Proficiency in
monitoring and observability
tools (e.g.,
Prometheus ,
Grafana ,
ELK stack ,
Datadog ,
New Relic ). Experience with
resilience patterns
such as
circuit breakers ,
retry logic , and
rate limiting . Deep understanding of
API security
best practices (OAuth2, JWT, API Gateways, etc.). Experience with
cloud platforms
(AWS, GCP, Azure) and
serverless architectures . Familiarity with
CI/CD
pipelines and tools (Jenkins, GitLab, CircleCI, etc.). Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex distributed systems. Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
Desirable:
Experience with
containerization
and
orchestration
tools like
Docker
and
Kubernetes . Familiarity with
microservices architecture
and
event-driven systems . Experience working with
NoSQL
and
relational databases
(MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.). Knowledge of
automated testing
and frameworks for Node.js (Mocha, Chai, Jest). Familiarity with
Infrastructure as Code
(e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation). Knowledge of
distributed tracing
and
service meshes
(e.g.,
Istio ,
Linkerd ).
Compensation, Benefits and Duration
Minimum Compensation: USD 46,000 Maximum Compensation: USD 161,000 Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role. Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees. This position is available for independent contractors No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post.