Senior Backend Engineer

About the company

Scotch is an all-in-one operating platform that provides point-of-sale, inventory management, invoice reconciliation and pricing intelligence for liquor retailers.

About this role

<p><strong>About Us</strong></p> <p data-start="0" data-end="190">Scotch is building the next-generation operating system for beverage alcohol retailers — combining POS, payments, back office, and e-commerce into a platform purpose-built for liquor stores.</p> <p data-start="192" data-end="427">We’re modernizing one of the oldest industries in the world: the $1.6T beverage alcohol market. Our platform helps retailers run more efficiently through streamlined payments, inventory management, reporting, and day-to-day operations.</p> <p data-start="429" data-end="951" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">Our founders came from Skupos (acquired 2023) and Drizly (acquired by Uber). We've raised $28M from VMG Partners, First Round, Lerer Hippeau, Watchfire, and Toba Capital, with angels including the founder of Drizly and early Toast executives, and in 2026, closed a $20M Series A. Forbes has recognized Scotch as a leader in liquor retail tech.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Position Overview</strong></p> <div class="_chunkWrapper_yu34g_39"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal"><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="2">Scotch </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="28">is hiring an </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="41">experienced backend-leaning </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="69">full stack engineer to </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="92">own features </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="105">end-to-end across our Rails + Hotwire </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="143">application — from concept through </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="178">deployment. This role carries </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="208">significant technical ownership: data </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="246">modeling, database performance, and </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="282">background job architecture on top of </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="320">standard feature delivery. It's a </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="354">senior individual contributor role, not </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="394">a management position, but one with </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="430">real influence over engineering </span><span class="_animating_yu34g_10" data-newtext-seq="462">standards and process.</span></p> </div> <p><strong>Key Responsibilities&nbsp;</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li>Design, develop, and ship robust full stack features in Rails and Hotwire</li> <li>Ownership of the full development lifecycle — concept, design, testing, and deployment</li> <li>Own data modeling, database design, and query performance (PostgreSQL)</li> <li>Build and maintain background job processing and asynchronous workflows</li> <li>Optimize application performance, scalability, and resource utilization</li> <li>Partner with cross-functional teams to turn requirements into technical solutions</li> <li>Conduct code reviews and uphold coding standards and best practices</li> <li>Drive continuous improvement of development processes and workflows</li> </ul> <p><strong>Qualifications &amp; Skills</strong></p> <ul> <li>4+ years of professional backend web development experience</li> <li>Strong proficiency in Ruby or similar language</li> <li>Solid understanding of Rails application architecture and server-side patterns</li> <li>Experience designing and building RESTful APIs, and working with JSON and other data-exchange formats</li> <li>Strong database skills — schema design, query optimization, and migrations (e.g., PostgreSQL)</li> <li>Experience with version control (e.g., Git)</li> <li>Understanding of secure coding practices and application security</li> <li>Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills, with strong communication and collaboration</li> <li>Understanding of AI tools and proficiency in applying them (but not during the interview process unless expressly stated)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Nice to Haves</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li>Experience with POS/commerce systems, payment workflows, payment processing, and gateway integration</li> <li>Experience and comfort with the speed and demands of early-stage startups</li> <li>Familiarity with background job frameworks and best practices (e.g., GoodJob, Sidekiq)</li> <li>Experience with caching, message queues, and third-party API integrations</li> <li>Experience with CI/CD pipelines and best practices for managing production releases</li> <li>Familiarity with Infrastructure (AWS, Heroku)</li> <li>Experience with observability and monitoring (logging, metrics, tracing)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Compensation &amp; Benefits</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li data-section-id="u3ojhh" data-start="3691" data-end="3713">Compensation: The anticipated base salary range for this position is $160,000–$180,000. Individual offers are based on a variety of factors, including experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity.&nbsp;</li> <li data-section-id="1lwz7u8" data-start="3774" data-end="3802">Competitive equity package</li> <li data-section-id="pmkcs8" data-start="3803" data-end="3855">Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage</li> <li data-section-id="idi915" data-start="3856" data-end="3880">Unlimited flexible PTO</li> </ul> <p><strong>Why Scotch?</s