Lead Go Developer
Location: Remote
Type: Full-time
About the Opportunity
This role sits within a distributed backend engineering team building scalable, cloud-native systems in Go. You will operate as a technical lead, designing complex distributed services while remaining hands-on in production code.
You will own architectural decisions, guide engineering standards, mentor less experienced engineers, and work closely with product stakeholders to deliver reliable, high-performing systems.
This position requires strong system thinking, deep Go expertise, and the ability to lead through technical credibility.
Role Overview
You will lead the design and delivery of backend services operating within distributed cloud environments. The platform relies on well-structured APIs, reliable data persistence layers, efficient background processing, and robust observability.
The role combines hands-on development with technical leadership, architectural oversight, and cross-functional collaboration.
Responsibilities
* Design and build scalable backend services using idiomatic Go
* Architect distributed systems with performance and reliability in mind
* Develop and maintain RESTful APIs and third-party integrations
* Apply advanced concurrency patterns using goroutines and channels
* Design and optimise data models across SQL and NoSQL systems (PostgreSQL and Redis preferred)
* Work with ORM tooling such as SQLC
* Implement streaming and messaging systems (Kafka or equivalent)
* Design and implement identity management solutions (OAuth, SAML, LDAP)
* Lead architectural discussions and technical decision-making
* Identify and address technical debt with structured remediation plans
* Refactor systems to introduce appropriate architectural patterns
* Support and troubleshoot live production systems
* Improve monitoring, tracing, and observability practices
* Influence automated testing as a first-class engineering concern
* Lead estimation, planning, and technical story refinement
* Work closely with product stakeholders on requirements and rollout plans
* Introduce risk-reduction strategies such as feature flags and gradual rollouts
* Mentor and direct less experienced engineers
* Facilitate agile delivery practices where required
Technical Requirements
* 7+ years of software engineering experience
* Strong commercial experience with Go, including concurrency and pointer management
* Proven experience designing distributed cloud-based systems
* Experience building REST or REST-like APIs
* Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL and Redis preferred)
* Experience with ORM tooling such as SQLC
* Experience with Kafka or other messaging/streaming systems
* Experience implementing identity management (OAuth, SAML, LDAP)
* Strong unit testing experience
* Experience integrating third-party systems
* Experience with monitoring, tracing, and APM tools
* Experience supporting and troubleshooting production systems
* Experience working remotely with strong written communication
Nice to Have
* Experience with Temporal or workflow orchestration tools
* Experience with background processing frameworks (e.g. River, Goworker)
* Experience with Ruby/Rails or Python as a secondary language
* Experience leading agile ceremonies without a dedicated Scrum Master
Leadership & Behavioural Expectations
* Leads by example through hands-on technical contribution
* Drives accountability in distributed teams
* Communicates clearly with engineers, stakeholders, and clients
* Encourages participation and healthy technical debate
* Comfortable delivering difficult technical feedback when required
* Continuously invests in personal and technical growth
* Prioritises delivery of value while managing risk
* Maintains strong customer awareness without over-engineering