Senior Full-Stack Engineer (Go, Node.js)

TL;DR

Senior Full-Stack Engineer (Go, Node.js): Building and optimizing complex, scalable full-stack systems for live games with an accent on backend services, API design, and real-time infrastructure. Focus on architectural decisions, performance optimization across the stack, and setting engineering quality standards in an agile environment.

Location: Candidates must be available to work standard hours from 09:00 to 18:00 in the Western European Time (WET) zone (Portugal time zone). Candidates outside of Portugal will be engaged via hirify.global’s international payroll provider.

Company

hirify.global is a privately held, founder-led evergreen business creating world-renowned games for 20 years.

What you will do

• Own the technical direction and delivery of complex, scalable full-stack systems used by live games.
• Design and make architectural decisions for backend and frontend systems, balancing performance, scalability, and long-term maintainability.
• Build and evolve backend services and APIs that power real-time, live-operated games.
• Integrate backend systems with web-based frontends and browser games.
• Act as a force multiplier for internal game teams by building shared services, frameworks, and developer tools.
• Design, implement, and maintain reliable data models, ensuring correctness, security, and performance at scale.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of professional experience building backend or full-stack production systems.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with server-side runtimes (Node.js).
• 3+ years working with modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks on both frontend (React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, etc.) and backend (Express.js, NestJS, Next.js, Remix, etc.).
• Proven experience writing production backend services in Go.
• Experience designing, building, and maintaining RESTful APIs at scale and deploying/operating services on cloud platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to lead by example, mentor engineers, and influence technical direction, with strong analytical and clear communication skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with game backend platforms (Nakama, Firebase, PlayFab).
• Experience operating online games with thousands of concurrent users.
• Hands-on experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.).
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with Unity or other game engines and a solid understanding of microservices, distributed systems, and real-time architectures.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive compensation with structured performance and career development check-ins.
• Health insurance and additional budgets for conferences and personal development.
• Time off from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day and Summer Fridays.
• A unique culture of transparency, true teamwork, and fun.