Hopper

Senior Backend Engineer - Lodging and Cars

Hopper2 days ago
Location

Argentina - Remote

Workplace

Remote

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 120,000 – 180,000

Level

Senior

Role

Backend Engineer

Posted

Jul 1, 2026

Full TimeRemoteSenior

The role

Summary

Join Hopper's Lodging and Cars Supply team as a Senior Backend Engineer to architect and scale a global hotel and car rental ecosystem handling high-volume, real-time transactions. This role combines technical depth in microservices architecture with product ownership, requiring expertise in Scala/JVM languages, distributed systems, and integration protocols to deliver reliable booking fulfillment across complex partner ecosystems. Ideal candidates demonstrate strong system design fundamentals, remote-first collaboration skills, and a commercial mindset focused on travel technology innovation in a well-funded, pre-IPO startup environment.

What you'll do

Technical Integration Architecture: Execute end-to-end technical integrations with external lodging, cars, and Global Distribution System (GDS) partners while navigating complex communication protocols, distributed data schemas, and multi-format data interchange standards. Design integration patterns that maintain system resilience and data consistency across diverse partner ecosystems.
High-Performance Backend Development: Write clean, performant, and maintainable code in Scala or other JVM languages (Java, Kotlin) to build and evolve mission-critical lodging services. Focus on building scalable, high-throughput microservices that meet rigorous engineering standards while supporting billions of dollars in annual transaction volume.
Production Troubleshooting and System Optimization: Explore and troubleshoot existing complex codebases to conduct deep-dives into infrastructure components. Resolve production issues in distributed system environments using observability tools and systematic debugging approaches to maintain system health under high load.
Cross-functional Collaboration and Delivery: Partner with Product Managers and Operations teams to decompose business requirements into technical tasks, estimate delivery timelines, and align technical architecture with commercial objectives. Communicate technical trade-offs and feasibility assessments to non-technical stakeholders in a remote-first environment.
Feature Ownership Lifecycle: Take full ownership of the complete development lifecycle for new product features, encompassing technical design, implementation, automated testing, staging validation, and production deployment. Ensure smooth feature rollouts with appropriate monitoring and rollback capabilities.
Resilient Service Design: Contribute to the design and implementation of highly resilient, low-latency microservices that ensure a seamless booking experience for customers during peak demand periods. Apply distributed systems patterns such as circuit breakers, bulkheads, and graceful degradation to maintain service availability.
Code Review and Performance Leadership: Participate in thorough peer code reviews as both reviewer and reviewee, identifying opportunities to optimize scalability, performance, and system health. Champion engineering excellence and establish best practices for the platform.

What we look for

Technical

Scala or JVM Language ProficiencyStrong proficiency in Scala, Java, or Kotlin with demonstrated experience building scalable, high-throughput production services. Ability to write idiomatic, performant code that leverages JVM ecosystem strengths.
Microservices Architecture ExperienceProven track record of owning technical implementation, testing, and deployment of features within a microservices architecture. Deep understanding of service decomposition, inter-service communication patterns, and distributed transaction management.
Distributed Systems ExpertisePractical experience with distributed systems concepts including eventual consistency, synchronization patterns, and failure modes. Hands-on experience with service communication methods including gRPC, Pub/Sub (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Google Cloud Pub/Sub), and RESTful APIs.
Production Systems DebuggingProficiency with observability and monitoring tools (logging, metrics, tracing) to diagnose production issues. Experience troubleshooting complex distributed systems and optimizing performance under high-load conditions.
Integration Protocol KnowledgeFamiliarity with complex data integration patterns, XML/JSON transformation, protocol handling (SOAP, REST, gRPC), and working with external APIs in the travel or e-commerce domains.

Education

Computer Science or Related FieldBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating deep systems knowledge.

Experience

Senior Backend Engineering Experience5+ years of professional software engineering experience with at least 2+ years in a senior individual contributor or senior engineer role. Demonstrated progression from mid-level to senior responsibilities including mentoring, architecture influence, and high-stakes feature ownership.
Scale and Performance OptimizationProven experience working with systems handling significant transaction volume, high concurrency, or real-time data processing. Track record of optimizing system performance and managing technical debt in complex codebases.
Remote-First CollaborationExperience thriving in asynchronous, distributed team environments with strong written communication skills. Demonstrated ability to self-organize, maintain high standards without close supervision, and drive projects to completion independently.
Travel or E-commerce Domain KnowledgeProfessional experience in travel technology, e-commerce, or fintech domains. Understanding of booking systems, inventory management, rate optimization, or supplier integration adds significant value but is not strictly required.

Skills

Required skills

Scala or Java Backend DevelopmentProduction-grade development in Scala, Java, or Kotlin with understanding of JVM ecosystem, performance tuning, and concurrency models.
Distributed Systems DesignArchitectural knowledge of microservices patterns, service mesh concepts, distributed transactions, and failure recovery mechanisms.
gRPC and Pub/Sub MessagingPractical implementation experience with gRPC services and asynchronous messaging systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Google Cloud Pub/Sub).
REST API Development and IntegrationDesigning and consuming REST APIs, implementing proper error handling, versioning strategies, and third-party API integration.
Production Debugging and TroubleshootingUsing logging frameworks, metrics collection, and distributed tracing tools to diagnose and resolve production issues in complex systems.
Automated Testing and Quality AssuranceWriting unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests. Experience with testing frameworks and test automation strategies in microservices environments.
System Design and ArchitectureTechnical capability to evaluate trade-offs, design scalable systems, and make sound architectural decisions aligned with business requirements.
Cross-functional CommunicationAbility to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, estimate timelines accurately, and collaborate effectively in remote-first environments.

Nice to have

Scala Ecosystem ExpertiseAdvanced experience with Scala, including functional programming paradigms, actors model (Akka), or reactive frameworks (Play, Lagom).
Travel or Booking System ExperiencePrevious work in travel technology platforms, hotel or airline systems, or e-commerce booking engines. Understanding of GDS (Global Distribution System) integrations, inventory management, and rate logic is a plus.
Cloud Platform ProficiencyExperience deploying and managing microservices on cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, or Azure). Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code tools.
Fintech Systems KnowledgeExperience with financial systems, payment processing, or fintech platforms. Understanding of compliance requirements, transaction integrity, and audit trails.
API Gateway and Service MeshExperience with API gateway patterns, service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd), and managing complex service-to-service communication at scale.
Database Performance OptimizationHands-on experience optimizing database queries, indexing strategies, and handling eventual consistency in distributed database systems.
Open Source ContributionContributions to open-source JVM projects, travel or fintech libraries, or active participation in relevant engineering communities.

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 120,000 – 180,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Apply for this position

You'll be redirected to the company's application page

Hopper

Hopper

View all jobs

Hopper is a travel booking app and online marketplace, leveraging data-driven technology to predict prices and help users book hotels, flights, and car rentals at the best rates.

Montreal, QC, CanadaFounded 2006hopper.com

Tech Stack

Languages
ScalaJavaKotlin
Frameworks
AkkaPlay FrameworkSpring BootLagom
Databases
PostgreSQLApache CassandraRedisDynamoDB or Google Firestore
Tools
gRPCApache KafkaRabbitMQ or Google Cloud Pub/SubDocker and KubernetesPrometheus and GrafanaELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)Jaeger or ZipkinGit and GitHub/GitLab
Other
REST API DesignEvent-Driven ArchitectureCI/CD PipelinesDistributed Tracing and APMLoad Testing and Performance Benchmarking
Apply Now

On this page