Senior Software Engineer (Golang) About UsWe are a profitable, fast-growing startup in Chicago building next-generation vehicle and driver information systems for businesses. Our web-based B2B platform is already used by Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups, giving you the chance to see immediate impact from your work. Despite our startup agility, we offer the financial strength and stability of a proven business – in other words, you’ll enjoy a fast-paced, innovative culture without the runway anxiety you find in other start-ups.You’ll be joining a small, dynamic team where you can directly impact the company’s trajectory. We maintain a flat organization: you’ll work directly with our CTO on a regular basis, with no red tape in the way of getting things done.We love technology and work with a cutting-edge stack. Our backend is built in Golang (running on AWS) and we leverage both gRPC and REST for our services. The front-end is built with Node.js and Next.js, though your focus will be on backend and infrastructure. If you’re excited by high-performance systems, real-world data, and the chance to own architecture decisions, you’ll fit right in. We move fast, iterate often, and value engineers who take initiative. Each team member has huge ownership over the product – your ideas and code will shape the future of our platform.This is a hybrid-remote position in Chicago. We strongly believe in collaboration both in person and remotely. This position involves in-office collaboration in Chicago 2-3 days per week.The sensitivity of the information that we handle requires applicants to be eligible to work in the United States and pass an enhanced criminal background check. If you're a seasoned software engineer seeking to exercise your leadership and technical skills to make a significant impact on a rapidly scaling start-up and the industry as a whole, we welcome you to apply for this position.What You'll do Design & Build Scalable APIs: Work directly with our CTO to design and build scalable API endpoints and microservices using Golang (including both gRPC and RESTful endpoints). You’ll own features end-to-end – from initial design, implementation, testing, to deployment in production. Develop New Product Features: Drive development of new features for our web-based B2B platform in the vehicle/driver information domain. You’ll be building tools that our enterprise clients rely on daily, and seeing your features quickly go live to users. Optimize Performance: Analyze and optimize our Go-based backend for speed, scalability, and reliability. Tackle complex challenges in data processing and high-throughput systems to ensure we deliver fast and accurate information to users. Architect & Innovate: Take architectural ownership of portions of the platform. Work closely with our CTO (and co-founders) to shape the technical vision and make key design decisions. Collaborate Across the Stack: While your primary focus is backend, you’ll collaborate with our front-end team (Node.js/Next.js) to integrate APIs and ensure a seamless end-to-end experience. Customer-Focused Iteration: Engage with our users and clients – including Fortune 500 enterprises and innovative startups – to gather direct feedback. Incorporate that feedback to build something you’d want to use yourself. Mentorship & Best Practices: As a lead engineer, set the tone for engineering best practices. Review code, mentor junior developers, and foster a culture of clean, efficient, and maintainable code. What We're Looking For 5+ years of professional software development experience, including significant Golang experience building production services.Proven ability to design and build scalable APIs and web services (REST and ideally gRPC) with high performance and reliability.Solid understanding of microservices architecture and building distributed systems.Hands-on experience with AWS (or similar cloud platform).Strong skills in SQL and NoSQL databases and general data modeling. We use Postgres, Redis, and DynamoDB extensively.Familiarity with containerization and deployment tools (Docker, CloudFormation, Kubernetes) and CI/CD workflows. Leadership and collaboration: You take ownership and can drive projects independently, while also working well with others. Problem-solving mindset: Comfortable with autonomy and excited to take on complex challenges. BS/MS in Computer Science or equivalent real-world experience.Nice-to-HavesExperience with Node.js/Next.js or React. While you won’t be focused on the front-end, understanding it can help in building better APIs and occasionally contributing to end-to-end solutions.Experience in a startup environment or small team, where you wore multiple hats.Exposure to DevOps/SRE practices. if you’ve managed CI/CD pipelines, monitoring/alerting, or infrastructure-as-code, that’s a plus.Experience building serverless applications using frameworks like AWS Lambda.Experience writing and implementing OpenAPI or Swagger standards.Exposure to AI Large Language Models enhancing features in software applications.Contributions to open-source projects or involvement in the Go community. We love engineers who are passionate about their craft and continuous learners.Additional Requirements: Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or transfer visas for this position.Competitive Salary + Stock Options Benefits and Health Coverage – medical with optional dental, and vision, 401k, and life insurance. High-End Gear – high-end Macbook Pro or equivalent, large monitors, and any other gear you need to be productive. Hybrid Work Environment - Flexible hybrid schedule (typically 2–3 days a week in our Chicago office, the rest work-from-home). Enjoy the collaboration of in-person teamwork and the flexibility of remote days. Modern Office & Stocked Kitchen - We keep the kitchen stocked with snacks and coffee/tea, along with team lunches and after-work hangouts. Flat Org Culture