Senior Backend Engineer

About The Role

At Blinkist, we’re on a mission to connect people to powerful ideas from the world’s best nonfiction. As part of our Mobile CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) team, you’ll play a key role in shaping how users experience our app—from onboarding to subscription—and in building the backend infrastructure that powers our paywall, purchase systems, and growth experiments.

We're looking for a Senior Backend Developer with deep technical expertise, a passion for building scalable systems, and a collaborative mindset to help us elevate the way millions of users engage with Blinkist.

Check out the hiring process for this position here: https://jobs.blinkist.com/jzu 🚀

What You'll Do

• Design, implement, and maintain distributed backend systems that serve millions of mobile users.

• Work closely with mobile engineers to deliver seamless backend–frontend integration, especially for onboarding and paywall flows.

• Build and optimize Ruby on Rails services in production, applying advanced performance and refactoring techniques.

• Lead the design and evolution of our microservices, API gateways, and event-driven architectures with a focus on scalability and fault tolerance.

• Take ownership of backend systems that directly impact conversion, such as purchase management, user onboarding, server-driven UI, and subscription logic.

• Improve infrastructure performance and reliability across caching layers, databases, and message brokers like Kafka or RabbitMQ.

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience designing and maintaining backend infrastructure, including API modelling, data systems, and service orchestration.

• At least 5 years of professional experience working with Ruby on Rails in high-scale production environments, including performance profiling, refactoring, and advanced metaprogramming.

• A track record of designing, scaling, and maintaining microservices and distributed systems.

• Strong understanding of event-driven architecture, caching strategies, and asynchronous service communication.

• Collaborative mindset and the ability to partner closely with mobile developers, product managers, and designers.

• Curiosity to explore and improve growth-critical systems like paywalls, onboarding flows, and subscription logic.

Why Blinkist

• A meaningful product used by millions worldwide.

• A culture that supports learning, experimentation, and autonomy.

• A dedicated personal development budget.

• Flexible remote work within Germany or Spain.

• A diverse team that values impact over hierarchy.

These are some of our most valued benefits:

• 30 PTO days + Wellbeing days + Learning days 

• Flexible approach to work

• Monthly work-from-home or transport reimbursement

• One time work from home office set up budget

• Employee Stock Option Plan

• Unlimited access to the Go1 Learning Hub and Blinkist app

• Professional development fund

• Volunteer leave to give back to the community

• Family planning & parental leave, plus support for parents returning to work

• Wellness initiatives and an Employee Assistance Program

If you choose to join our team in Berlin, you'll have access to our modern office space in Neukölln and enjoy healthy plant-based meals prepared fresh every day by our very own chef. 🥑