Lead Backend Engineer

At HackerRank, we are on a mission to change the world to value skills over pedigree. We are a high-performing, mission-driven team that truly, madly, deeply cares about what we do. We don’t see velocity and quality as tradeoffs - both matter. If you take pride in high-impact work and thrive in a driven team, HackerRank is where you belong.

About the team:

You’ll be joining the team behind HackerRank Community - a platform that supports 26.5 million developers as they learn, grow and find jobs they love. This team isn’t just building a product; we're shaping the future of software development and what it means to truly empower developers at every step of their journey. 

We're a fiercely passionate group that sweats the details and obsesses over every interaction a developer has with us. We care deeply about our users - so much so that talking to them regularly is second nature, not a box to check. We get energised by the joy of learning, the rise of AI in development, the challenge of hard problems, and the beauty of a well-crafted solution. You’ll find us debating UX flows late into the evening, jamming on crazy creative ideas, and pushing each other to make things better - always.

We’re quirky, vocal, driven, and relentless in our pursuit of building magical experiences for developers. If you’re someone who feels a spark reading this, you just might be one of us.

About the role:

As a Lead Engineer on the HackerRank Community team, you'll help shape how 26.5 million developers around the world learn, grow, and connect with job opportunities they love. You’ll drive technical excellence, craft seamless experiences for developers, and guide your team through ambiguity to deliver innovative solutions. Your impact will directly influence the future of the job-seeking experience of developers across the globe.

**This role will be hybrid in Bangalore during the 1st and 3rd months of each quarter (Jan, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, September, October, December) and is subject to change.

What you’ll do:

• Drive architectural decisions, ensuring scalability that aligns with long-term platform goals.
• Collaborate deeply with product, design, and engineering peers to influence the roadmap and enhance the HackerRank Community.
• Lead end-to-end project execution, bringing structure to ambiguous problems and ensuring on-time delivery.
• Mentor and guide engineers across levels, cultivating technical growth and fostering a culture of excellence.
• Spearhead initiatives that elevate engineering practices, processes, and cross-team collaboration.

You will thrive in this role if:

• You think like a product owner as much as an engineer. You care deeply about the “why” behind what you're building, not just the “how”
• You are energized by ambiguity and enjoy bringing structure to loosely defined problems
• You have a strong sense of empathy for developers and build with their experience in mind
• You are comfortable making trade-offs, iterating quickly, and delivering real value to users without getting stuck in perfection.
• You enjoy the fast pace of building and shipping,  believe in “talk is cheap, show me the code”, and take pride in turning ideas into working products.

What you bring:

• 6+ years of hands-on experience in software engineering, with at least 1-2 years in a technical leadership role.
• Proven track record of designing and building scalable, maintainable systems across multiple codebases.
• Strong experience working closely with PMs and designers, with a product mindset and a deep empathy for Developers.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, drive cross-functional initiatives, and influence org-wide technical decisions.
• Deep understanding of, engineering best practices and experience mentoring and guiding engineers
• Bonus: Prior experience working on developer platforms or tools.
• Bonus: Familiarity with observability frameworks, cost optimization, and platform reliability improvements.
• Bonus: Contributions to open-source or community-facing tech initiatives.

Want to learn more about HackerRank? Check out HackerRank.com to explore our products, solutions and resources, and dive into our story and mission here.

HackerRank is a proud equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. We provide equal opportunity to everyone for employment based on individual performance and qualification. We never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, or disability status. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. 

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Notice to prospective HackerRank job applicants:

• Our Recruiters use @hackerrank.com email addresses.
• We never ask for payment or credit check information to apply, interview, or work here.