Backend Engineer

About the Role

🚀 Build. Scale. Learn. Grow.

At Blinkist, we don’t just build software—we create products that inspire millions to learn and grow. We’re looking for a Mid-Level Backend Engineer to join our CRO team, where you’ll work on scalable backend infrastructure, distributed microservices, and Ruby on Rails applications that power Blinkist’s platform, including purchases, A/B testing infrastructure, authentication, and authorization.

If you have production experience with Ruby on Rails, a solid grasp of backend infrastructure concepts, and a problem-solving mindset, keep reading.

Who We Are

Our Backend Team ensures that Blinkist’s systems are scalable, reliable, and efficient. You’ll be joining a high-impact engineering team where you’ll work closely with senior engineers to enhance our backend services, APIs, and infrastructure.

We need a mid-level backend engineer who can work independently on tasks, collaborate effectively, and grow their expertise in a distributed microservices environment.

Who You Are

• You have a solid foundation in backend engineering. You understand gateways, databases, caching, API modeling, event buses, and more—even if you’re not a master of them yet.
• You have experience with Ruby on Rails. You’ve worked with Rails in a production environment with moderate scale and understand its strengths and limitations.
• You’ve worked with a distributed microservices architecture. You know how different services communicate and how to build reliable, maintainable systems.
• You’ve explored beyond the surface. You’ve looked under the hood of at least one backend domain, technology, or programming language to understand how it works at a deeper level.
• You take ownership but know when to ask for help. You can work independently on a task, but you also know when to reach out for guidance and when to keep pushing through a challenge.

What You'll Do

• Develop and maintain backend services in Ruby on Rails and other backend technologies.
• Work on distributed microservices, ensuring reliability, scalability, and performance.
• Model APIs and data structures, optimizing for efficiency and maintainability.
• Collaborate with senior engineers to improve backend architecture and infrastructure.
• Troubleshoot issues, optimise performance, and contribute to backend best practices.
• Expand your expertise by deep-diving into backend concepts and improving Blinkist’s platform.

What You Need To Have

• 3+ years of experience in backend development.
• Production experience with Ruby on Rails—you’ve built and maintained real-world applications at a moderate scale.
• Understanding of backend infrastructure (gateways, caching, databases, API modelling, event buses, etc.).
• Experience with distributed microservices and service-to-service communication.
• A problem-solving mindset—you go beyond surface-level issues and think about long-term improvements.
• A willingness to learn and grow. You’re curious about backend systems and enjoy understanding how things work at a deeper level.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively—you know when to ask for help and when to push through a challenge.
• Proficiency in English (and ideally, you’re in Berlin).

Why Join Us?

• You’ll work on challenging backend problems at scale.
• You’ll collaborate with experienced engineers who love to mentor and share knowledge.
• You’ll have ownership over your work while continuously learning and growing.
• No bureaucracy—just meaningful work and a great engineering culture.

If you’re a mid-level backend engineer with Ruby on Rails experience who’s eager to grow, solve problems, and build scalable systems, we'd love to hear from you!