Spendesk is looking for a Senior Backend Software Engineer (IC4) to join our Datapoints squad and help us build core backend services that turn data into reliable, product-grade capabilities. This is a specific role: you won’t be building “just another API”. You’ll work on backend systems where data is the main asset—event streams, enrichment services, reporting datasets, and customer-facing data access patterns.

You will join a cross-functional squad (Data Product Manager, Team Lead, Data Engineer, Analytics Engineers) and partner closely with applicative Squads. You’ll also collaborate frequently with the 2nd data squad (“AI & Data Products” - home of our ML Engineers) to ensure the foundations you build can power intelligent features in the product (forecasting, classification, clustering, etc.).

This role is 100% hands-on: you’ll design, build, test, deploy, and operate production services. 

About the role

As a Senior Backend Software Engineer (IC4) in Datapoints, your first two core missions will be:

Internalize the tracking collector service

We are building a backend service responsible for subscribing to two Spendesk event buses (one application-side, one financial/regulated services side), collecting events, and enriching/hydrating them with business context before routing/exposing them downstream. Today, parts of this are delegated to Segment (Twilio).

You’ll help us bring this capability in-house with strong guarantees around reliability, observability, and data quality.

Internalize customer-facing reporting

We are building backend capabilities to expose customer-specific reporting covering feature usage and value realization across Spendesk. Today, some of this is delegated to Looker (the “Powered by Looker” embeds). You’ll help us design and implement a scalable, secure, and maintainable approach to customer-facing reporting and data access—integrated with our data platform and product needs.

Because enrichment depends on business context, you’ll frequently integrate with applicative squads’ APIs. Coverage will be uneven and may involve both microservices and parts of the monolith, so you’ll need to be comfortable navigating ambiguity and designing pragmatic integration patterns.

Our tech environment

You’ll operate in a modern engineering environment with a strong data backbone:

• Backend: Node.js, TypeScript, API design (REST and/or GraphQL depending on use case), testing with Jest

• Messaging / streaming: Kafka, event-driven patterns, queues and jobs

• Storage: PostgreSQL (MySQL for monolith), plus data platform integrations when relevant

• Platform: AWS, Terraform, Kubernetes, GitHub, CI/CD (GitHub Actions), observability tooling

• Data ecosystem you will integrate with: dbt, Snowflake, Segment, BI tools (Looker today; evolving stack)

You don’t need to be an expert in every tool, but you should be fluent in designing backend systems in such an environment and comfortable interfacing with data platforms.

Key responsibilities

Backend architecture & delivery (hands-on)

You will:

• Design and implement secure, reliable, and scalable backend services, end-to-end: technical design, development, testing, documentation, deployment, and maintainability.

• Make thoughtful architecture choices for event-driven services: idempotency, ordering, retries, backpressure, schema evolution, and failure modes.

• Write well-designed, testable code and raise the bar via code reviews and technical mentorship.

• Produce clear specifications, evaluate operational feasibility, and manage trade-offs pragmatically to deliver impact without over-engineering.

Tracking collector service 

You will:

• Build the service that subscribes to our two event buses, collects events, and enriches them with business context.

• Implement robust enrichment patterns (API-first integrations with squads, fallbacks when coverage is incomplete, and safe interaction with monolith components when needed).

• Ensure the service is production-grade: monitoring, alerting, logging, dashboards, runbooks, and on-call-friendly operations.

• Partner with Data Engineering and Analytics Engineering to ensure events are consistent, documented, governed, and usable downstream (contracts, schemas, quality expectations).

Customer-facing reporting services

You will:

• Design and build backend capabilities to expose customer-specific reporting and usage analytics across key Spendesk use cases.

• Implement secure access patterns and tenancy guarantees (authZ/authN, least privilege, safe exposure of customer data).

• Create APIs and data access layers that scale operationally and support evolving product needs, while reducing reliance on embedded BI where appropriate.

• Collaborate with the Data Product Manager and Analytics Engineers to align on definitions, semantics, and user expectations.

Cross-squad collaboration (especially with AI & Data Products)

You will:

• Partner closely with the AI & Data Products squad (including ML Engineers) to ensure the data foundations you build support intelligence in-product (forecasting, classification, clustering).

• Work cross-functionally with product squads, finance/regulated teams, and business stakeholders to translate ambiguous needs into concrete technical solutions.

• Help establish shared standards across teams for event contracts, service interfaces, and operational reliability.

What we’re looking for

Experience & background

You have:

• 5+ years of backend software engineering experience in a professional setting, with production ownership of services.

• Demonstrated experience shipping and operating systems in fast-paced environments, ideally including event-driven or data-intensive systems.

• A track record of mentoring other engineers and improving engineering quality through reviews, standards, and collaboration.

This role is ideal if you’ve experienced backend-led architecture, data engineering, data /dev ops roles in the past.

Technical requirements

You have:

• Strong backend engineering skills with TypeScript/Node.js (or adjacent languages with willingness to work in TS).

• Experience building and consuming APIs (REST and/or GraphQL), and integrating across multiple internal systems.

• Solid knowledge of reliability patterns: testing strategy, observability, incident response mindset, and operational excellence.

• Experience with at least some of: Kafka, distributed systems patterns, AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, PostgreSQL/MySQL.

Mindset & ways of working

You are:

• Comfortable working with data as a first-class product asset (events, enrichment, reporting datasets).

• Product-minded: you enjoy turning ambiguous needs into impactful technical solutions.

• Autonomous and accountable, with a strong collaboration mindset and clear communication in English.

• Curious and pragmatic: you can navigate uneven system coverage (microservices + monolith) and still deliver a clean, maintainable solution.

About Spendesk

Spendesk is the AI-powered spend management and procurement platform that transforms company spending. By simplifying procurement, payment cards, expense management, invoice processing, and accounting automation, Spendesk sets the new standard for spending at work. Its single, intelligent solution makes efficient spending easy for employees and gives finance leaders the full visibility and control they need across all company spend, even in multi-entity structures. Trusted by thousands of companies, Spendesk supports over 200,000 users across brands such as SoundCloud, Gousto, SumUp, and Bloom & Wild. With offices in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany, Spendesk also puts community at the heart of its mission.

For more information: www.spendesk.com/press

About our people & culture

We believe that people do their best work when they’re given the freedom to thrive and grow. That’s why liberation is at the core of everything we do. We empower Spendeskers to take ownership of their work, to navigate ambiguity, and seize every opportunity. Spendeskers come from all over the world (35+ countries and counting!) but we have plenty in common: we're bold, ever-curious, committed to kindness, and tackle every challenge with a positive mindset.

About our benefits

Our culture is built on trust, empowerment, and growth — with benefits to match!

As we are an international team, please submit your application and CV in English.