Hopper

Senior Backend Engineer - Lodging and Cars

Hopper2 days ago
Location

Ireland - Remote

Workplace

Remote

Type

Full Time

Salary

EUR 120,000 – 160,000

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 mission-critical microservices handling high-volume, real-time booking transactions for a global travel platform serving 120+ million users. You'll execute complex integrations with lodging and cars partners, write high-performance Scala code, troubleshoot distributed systems, and own features end-to-end in a remote-first, high-growth environment. This independent contractor role demands strong JVM proficiency, microservices expertise, and the ability to navigate technical ambiguity while collaborating across distributed teams.

What you'll do

End-to-End Technical Integration Execution: Execute comprehensive technical integrations with external lodging, cars, and Global Distribution System (GDS) partners; navigate complex communication protocols, heterogeneous data schemas, and diverse API requirements to seamlessly connect partners to core platform infrastructure
Scalable Backend Service Development: Write clean, performant code in Scala or other JVM languages to build, maintain, and evolve mission-critical lodging services; adhere to rigorous engineering standards and best practices for production-grade systems serving hundreds of millions of travelers
Complex Codebase Exploration and Troubleshooting: Independently investigate, analyze, and troubleshoot complex existing codebases within microservices environments; identify root causes of production issues, implement targeted fixes, and optimize system performance in real-time distributed systems
Business Requirements to Technical Translation: Collaborate with Product Managers and Operations teams to decompose complex business requirements into actionable technical tasks; provide accurate delivery timeline estimates and communicate technical trade-offs clearly to stakeholders
Feature Development and Deployment Ownership: Own complete development lifecycle for new product features including technical design, implementation, comprehensive testing, code review participation, and production deployment; ensure features meet performance and reliability standards
Resilient Microservices Architecture Design: Contribute to design and implementation of highly resilient, low-latency services optimized for customer-facing booking experience under extreme load; implement circuit breakers, retry logic, and other resilience patterns
Code Review and Technical Excellence: Participate in thorough peer code reviews, identifying opportunities to enhance scalability, improve performance, optimize system health; mentor junior engineers and advocate for technical best practices within the team
System Monitoring and Observability: Design and implement comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting systems for production microservices; ensure observability of distributed system behavior and establish metrics-driven approaches to performance optimization

What we look for

Technical

Advanced JVM Ecosystem Mastery5+ years of professional backend development with expert-level competency in Scala, Java, or Kotlin; deep understanding of JVM performance characteristics, garbage collection, memory management, and thread-safety patterns
Microservices and Distributed SystemsDemonstrated ability to architect, build, and maintain complex microservices ecosystems; practical experience with service discovery, load balancing, distributed transactions, and eventual consistency models
Service Communication and IntegrationHands-on expertise with multiple communication protocols including gRPC, Pub/Sub messaging, and REST APIs; experience integrating heterogeneous systems with diverse data schemas and communication patterns
Production Systems and Incident ResponseProven track record debugging and resolving complex production issues in distributed environments; ability to analyze system behavior, identify bottlenecks, and implement performance optimizations
Asynchronous and Event-Driven ArchitectureProficiency designing and implementing event-driven systems, asynchronous processing pipelines, and non-blocking I/O patterns for high-throughput scenarios

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Related FieldFormal education in computer science, software engineering, or equivalent technical discipline; or demonstrated equivalent professional experience through advanced technical portfolio

Experience

Senior-Level Backend Engineering Experience5+ years professional software engineering experience with at least 3+ years at senior level or above; proven track record of owning large-scale backend projects and making architectural decisions
Scaling High-Volume Transaction SystemsDirect experience building and scaling systems handling millions of real-time transactions, high-concurrency scenarios, or peak load optimization; demonstrated understanding of performance optimization at scale
Third-Party Partner IntegrationPractical experience executing complex technical integrations with external vendors, APIs, and partner systems; comfort navigating technical ambiguity and diverse system requirements
Cross-Functional CollaborationProven ability to partner with product managers, operations teams, and other cross-functional stakeholders; experience decomposing business requirements into technical specifications and timelines
End-to-End Feature OwnershipDemonstrated capability to own complete development lifecycle from technical planning and implementation through testing, code review, and production deployment

Skills

Required skills

Scala or JVM LanguagesExpert-level proficiency in Scala, Java, or Kotlin for building scalable, high-throughput services; demonstrated ability to write clean, performant code adhering to rigorous engineering standards for mission-critical systems
Microservices ArchitectureProven track record designing, implementing, and maintaining complex microservices-based systems; experience owning full development lifecycle from technical implementation through production deployment
Distributed SystemsPractical expertise with distributed system design patterns, service-to-service communication, and handling eventual consistency; experience with high-throughput, low-latency service optimization
Service Communication ProtocolsHands-on experience implementing gRPC, Pub/Sub messaging, REST APIs, and other distributed communication patterns; ability to navigate complex communication protocols and heterogeneous data schemas across multiple partners
Backend System DesignStrong capability to decompose complex business requirements into technical architecture, estimate delivery timelines, and design resilient services under high load
Production TroubleshootingAbility to independently explore and debug existing complex codebases, identify root causes in production incidents, and resolve issues within distributed system environments
Technical IntegrationExperience executing end-to-end integrations with external systems, third-party APIs, and Global Distribution System (GDS) platforms; capability to handle diverse technical requirements from multiple partners

Nice to have

Travel Tech Industry ExperienceProfessional familiarity with travel booking platforms, hotel and car rental systems, or related travel commerce; understanding of travel fintech products and booking fulfillment workflows
High-Volume Transaction SystemsExperience building and scaling systems that handle millions of real-time transactions, payment processing, or high-concurrency scenarios
Cloud InfrastructureProficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization technologies; experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or similar orchestration frameworks
Monitoring and ObservabilityExpertise in implementing system monitoring, logging, tracing, and alerting; familiarity with observability tools and data-driven performance optimization
API Design and Integration PatternsAdvanced understanding of API versioning, backward compatibility, rate limiting, and integration patterns for third-party ecosystem management
Code Review LeadershipExperience leading technical code reviews and mentoring junior engineers; ability to identify scalability and performance optimization opportunities

Compensation & benefits

Salary

EUR 120,000 – 160,000 (annual)

Benefits

Remote-First Work Environment

Fully remote independent contractor engagement with flexibility to work from anywhere; asynchronous-first collaboration practices designed for distributed teams across multiple time zones

Impact at Global Scale

Contribute directly to systems serving 120+ million app downloads and processing billions of dollars in travel transactions annually; work on platform used by 70% Gen Z and Millennial travelers globally

High-Growth Technical Environment

Work within a rapidly scaling fintech and travel commerce platform backed by $750M+ institutional investment; access to cutting-edge technology stack and opportunities to shape architecture of hypergrowth systems

Autonomous Technical Leadership

Operate with significant autonomy as a senior-level individual contributor; own complete technical decisions for assigned features and systems with freedom to explore and execute solutions independently

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with experienced product managers, operations teams, and distributed engineering squads; exposure to business strategy and opportunity to influence product direction through technical expertise

Advanced Technology Stack

Work with modern JVM ecosystem, microservices architecture, distributed systems technologies, and sophisticated real-time transaction processing systems; continuous exposure to scaling and performance optimization challenges

Interview process

  1. 1
    Application and Resume Review — Initial screening of application materials, resume, and portfolio to assess baseline qualifications in Scala/JVM languages, microservices experience, and distributed systems background
  2. 2
    Recruiter Phone Screen — Preliminary conversation with recruiting team to discuss background, career progression, specific experience with backend systems, and alignment with remote independent contractor arrangement
  3. 3
    Technical Architecture Discussion — In-depth technical conversation with senior backend engineers covering microservices design decisions, distributed systems patterns, service communication approaches, and real-world scaling challenges from candidate's experience
  4. 4
    System Design Interview — Collaborative session to design scalable backend systems addressing travel booking, high-throughput transaction processing, or similar challenges; evaluation of architectural thinking, trade-off analysis, and communication
  5. 5
    Code Review and Implementation Discussion — Review of candidate's past code contributions, architectural decisions, and engineering approach; discussion of code quality standards, performance optimization, and technical problem-solving methodologies
  6. 6
    Cross-Functional Collaboration Assessment — Conversation with product and operations stakeholders to evaluate ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions, communication skills, and fit with remote-first team dynamics
  7. 7
    Offer and Contractor Agreement — Contract terms discussion including independent contractor engagement status, tax compliance responsibilities (per Irish Revenue Commissioners regulations), business registration requirements, and professional indemnity insurance documentation
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Hopper

Hopper

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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
Play Framework or AkkaSpring Boot
Databases
Distributed DatabasesMessage Queues and Event Streaming
Tools
gRPCREST APIsMonitoring and Observability ToolsVersion Control Systems
Other
Distributed Systems PatternsGlobal Distribution Systems (GDS)High-Throughput System Design
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