Senior Backend Engineer (Scala)

About the Team

Leyra builds the platform infrastructure powering next-generation OTT video applications globally. Our platform enables media companies to deploy production-ready streaming apps across Smart TVs, mobile, and web without building streaming backends from scratch.Behind the glass, our distributed infrastructure orchestrates real-time packaging, dynamic DRM, live-to-VOD ingestion, and low-latency distribution for millions of active playback sessions worldwide.

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will take technical ownership of business-critical, high-throughput microservices from whiteboarding and architecture through to production profiling and operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Core backend services: Design, develop and maintain services supporting identity, subscriptions, entitlements, metadata and other business-critical functionality.
• Cloud infrastructure: Deploying and operating a scalable, secure cloud infrastructure, including monitoring of live services
• APIs and integrations: Build and evolve reliable APIs and integrations with payment providers, identity systems and external services.
• System design and API contracts: Build and operate event-driven microservices with stable API versioning, backwards compatibility, reliable authentication and granular entitlements.
• Resilience at scale: Solve hard backend problems such as asynchronous processing, retry strategies, failure handling, caching and data consistency.
• Cross-team collaboration: Work closely with our Apple, Android, Smart TV and Web teams and product owners
• Production ownership: Troubleshoot, profile and optimise live services in a fast-paced environment built on freedom under responsibility
• Technical leadership: Drive architectural decisions, mentor other engineers and raise the bar for code quality across the team

What We’re Looking For

• Backend expertise: 5+ years backend / distributed systems experience, with strong proficiency in Scala
• Cloud infrastructure: Hands-on experience with AWS and cloud native application development and operations, including queues, message streaming and serverless or event-driven architectures
• Data systems: Experience with high-throughput message brokers such as Apache Kafka, together with relational- and NoSQL datastores, in business-critical data pipelines
• Mindset: You believe in automated testing, efficient and responsible use of AI, CI/CD, continuous refactoring and tackling technical debt early
• AI-assisted development: Practical experience using AI tools to improve development productivity, testing and code quality.
• Language: Professional working proficiency in English.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Go or keen interest in learning
• Experience with identity and access management, OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect.
• Experience with subscription management, recurring billing, payment integrations or entitlement systems.
• Experience with content management, metadata modelling or catalogue APIs.
• Experience with Kafka or similar event-streaming technologies.
• Experience modernising legacy systems or consolidating existing platforms.
• Familiarity with OTT platforms or digital subscription businesses.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Private health insurance
• AYCM or public transport pass
• Nice, spacious downtown office near Astoria
• Flexible working arrangements
• Opportunity to participate in Hackathons and a range of company events
• Startup environment and flexibility