Offer summary

Qualifications:

Extensive experience in designing and maintaining backend infrastructure, including API modeling and service orchestration., At least 5 years of professional experience with Ruby on Rails in high-scale production environments., Strong understanding of microservices, event-driven architecture, and caching strategies., Collaborative mindset with the ability to work closely with mobile developers and product managers..

Key responsabilities:

Design, implement, and maintain distributed backend systems for millions of mobile users.

Work closely with mobile engineers to ensure seamless backend-frontend integration.

Lead the design and evolution of microservices and API gateways with a focus on scalability.

Take ownership of backend systems impacting conversion, including purchase management and user onboarding.

Job description

Blinkist connects people with powerful ideas from leading authors and experts to broaden perspectives, gain knowledge, and spark understanding in all areas of their life, both personal and professional.

Used by over 32 million people worldwide, Blinkist distills the key ideas from the most relevant, impactful books and podcasts. These can be read or listened to in 15-minute summaries, that we call Blinks. ✨

About The Role

At Blinkist, we’re on a mission to connect people to powerful ideas from the world’s best nonfiction. As part of our Mobile CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) team, you’ll play a key role in shaping how users experience our app—from onboarding to subscription—and in building the backend infrastructure that powers our paywall, purchase systems, and growth experiments.

We're looking for a Senior Backend Developer with deep technical expertise, a passion for building scalable systems, and a collaborative mindset to help us elevate the way millions of users engage with Blinkist.

Check out the hiring process for this position here: https://jobs.blinkist.com/jzu 🚀

What You'll Do

Design, implement, and maintain distributed backend systems that serve millions of mobile users.
Work closely with mobile engineers to deliver seamless backend–frontend integration, especially for onboarding and paywall flows.
Build and optimize Ruby on Rails services in production, applying advanced performance and refactoring techniques.
Lead the design and evolution of our microservices, API gateways, and event-driven architectures with a focus on scalability and fault tolerance.
Take ownership of backend systems that directly impact conversion, such as purchase management, user onboarding, server-driven UI, and subscription logic.
Improve infrastructure performance and reliability across caching layers, databases, and message brokers like Kafka or RabbitMQ.

What We're Looking For

Extensive experience designing and maintaining backend infrastructure, including API modelling, data systems, and service orchestration.
At least 5 years of professional experience working with Ruby on Rails in high-scale production environments, including performance profiling, refactoring, and advanced metaprogramming.
A track record of designing, scaling, and maintaining microservices and distributed systems.
Strong understanding of event-driven architecture, caching strategies, and asynchronous service communication.
Collaborative mindset and the ability to partner closely with mobile developers, product managers, and designers.
Curiosity to explore and improve growth-critical systems like paywalls, onboarding flows, and subscription logic.

Why Blinkist

A meaningful product used by millions worldwide.
A culture that supports learning, experimentation, and autonomy.
A dedicated personal development budget.
Flexible remote work within Germany or Spain.
A diverse team that values impact over hierarchy.

These are some of our most valued benefits:

30 PTO days + Wellbeing days + Learning days
Flexible approach to work
Monthly work-from-home or transport reimbursement
One time work from home office set up budget
Employee Stock Option Plan
Unlimited access to the Go1 Learning Hub and Blinkist app
Professional development fund
Volunteer leave to give back to the community
Family planning & parental leave, plus support for parents returning to work
Wellness initiatives and an Employee Assistance Program

If you choose to join our team in Berlin, you'll have access to our modern office space in Neukölln and enjoy healthy plant-based meals prepared fresh every day by our very own chef. 🥑

Apply Now

If we’ve captured your interest and you want to take part in changing the world through the power of ideas – apply now and tell us what got you excited about this opportunity.

We look forward to hearing from you! ☀️

🔎 Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised folks tend to only apply when they check every box. If you think you have what it takes, even if you don't meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch. We’d love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.

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