Senior Backend Engineer

Perfect role for a senior professional looking to grow their Software Engineering career in Edinburgh.

Backend systems are the part of Software Engineering that rarely gets the credit but always gets the blame when something breaks. This growing SME, established enough to have real infrastructure and ambitious enough to keep expanding it, needs a Senior Backend Engineer who can own that responsibility with confidence. The Edinburgh tech scene has matured fast over the past decade, and this is exactly the kind of Senior Backend Engineer role that reflects it: serious engineering, sensible processes, and a team that still has room to shape how things get built.

Here's what you'll be doing:

Design and build backend services that handle real production load, not just proof-of-concept code

Own the architecture decisions for a core part of the platform, from database schema to API design

Review pull requests and mentor engineers who are earlier in their careers

Diagnose performance issues under pressure, then fix the root cause rather than patch the symptom

Work closely with product and frontend teams to scope features properly before code gets written

Improve deployment pipelines and monitoring so problems get caught before customers notice them

Here are the skills you'll need:

Several years building and maintaining backend systems in a production environment

Strong grasp of at least one backend language (Node.js, Python, Java or Go) and the databases that sit behind it

Comfort with cloud infrastructure, whether that's AWS, Azure or GCP

The judgement to know when to build something properly and when a simpler fix will do

Clear communication. You'll need to explain technical trade-offs to people who don't write code

A track record of owning a project end to end, not just contributing to someone else's

Key perks and benefits:

£57,000 to £83,000, plus bonus schemes

Private medical insurance and solid pension contributions

Hybrid working, based in Edinburgh with flexibility on office days

Generous annual leave and genuine flexible working, not just a line on a policy document

Structured career progression within a company that's still small enough to notice good work

Why pursue a career in Software Engineering?

Demand for strong backend talent hasn't slowed down, and it isn't going to. Software Engineering rewards people who can think clearly under pressure and take ownership, which makes it one of the more secure long-term careers going. Edinburgh has quietly become one of the UK's stronger tech hubs outside London, and a Senior Backend Engineer working here today has genuine options for where that career goes next.