[Remote] Backend Engineer

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Apatheia is a company that builds high-performance native software with a focus on systems-level engineering. They are seeking a Backend Engineer to take ownership of the services layer that supports their products and internal tools, focusing on backend services, security, and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend services using Firebase and/or Supabase, selecting the right tool for each use case
• Implement and maintain Google Authentication and other auth providers, ensuring secure, reliable login flows
• Integrate and manage Stripe for subscription billing, one-time payments, and webhook-driven event handling
• Build and maintain microservices that support our various products and internal tools, with clear boundaries and well-defined APIs between them
• Implement backend security best practices — secure API design, proper secrets management, input validation, rate limiting, and protection against common attack vectors (injection, CSRF, abuse of auth flows, etc.)
• Optimize request patterns to minimize unnecessary calls to the backend — including caching strategies, batching, debouncing on the client side, and efficient data-fetching patterns that reduce load and cost
• Monitor and improve database query performance and overall system efficiency as usage scales
• Write clear documentation for the services and APIs you build
• Collaborate directly with the founder/lead engineer on architecture decisions and technical tradeoffs

Skills

• Proven experience building production backend services with Firebase and/or Supabase
• Hands-on experience implementing Google OAuth / Google Sign-In flows
• Experience integrating Stripe (subscriptions, webhooks, payment intents, handling failed payments/disputes)
• Strong understanding of API security fundamentals — authentication, authorization, rate limiting, data validation, and secrets management
• Experience designing and maintaining microservices or modular backend architectures
• Demonstrated ability to optimize for request efficiency — reducing redundant calls, implementing caching, and designing APIs that scale without unnecessary backend load
• Comfortable working independently in a small, fully remote team with minimal oversight
• Strong written communication — you'll be documenting decisions and working largely async
• Experience with serverless compute (AWS Lambda, Cloud Functions, or similar)
• Familiarity with PostgreSQL (especially relevant for Supabase-based work)
• Experience with real-time data sync patterns (Firestore listeners, Supabase real-time subscriptions, or WebSockets)
• Background in startups or small teams where you've owned backend systems end-to-end
• Interest in or experience with systems-level/performance-focused engineering

Benefits

• Fully remote, flexible working style
• Small team — your work has direct, visible impact rather than getting lost in a large org
• Opportunity to shape backend architecture from a foundational stage, not just maintain something already built

Company Overview