Senior Backend Engineer

It's a new day with a new opportunity at 8am! About the role:We are looking for a Software Engineer to help design, build, and scale systems that process billions of dollars in transactions and enable new financial capabilities such as lending, payments, and workflow automation.This role is open to engineers with varying levels of experience. Depending on your background, you will take ownership of key components, contribute to system design, and help drive technical decisions that shape our platform. You’ll work on distributed, event-driven systems using technologies like Scala, Kafka, Kubernetes, and AWS—solving real-world problems where reliability, scalability, and security matter.This role is hired through an Employer of Record (EOR) partner in the Czech Republic.About us:8am builds software that helps professionals run stronger businesses. Our platform powers payments, client experience, and operational workflows for legal, accounting, and other service-based businesses. U.S. based professionals count on our purpose-built solutions to simplify operations, ensure compliance, and fuel profitable growth, so they can focus on their clients and do more of the work that matters.More than 250,000 professionals across the U.S. rely on our products every day. As we continue to grow, we’re investing in the next generation of our platform and are looking for experienced engineers who want to help shape its future.What you'll do:Design and build scalable backend services and APIs for payments and financial workflowsContribute to event-driven systems using messaging and streaming technologiesCollaborate with Product, Design, and Engineering to deliver practical, high-quality solutionsSupport deployments, monitoring, and troubleshooting in cloud environmentsImprove system reliability, performance, and securityParticipate in code reviews, knowledge sharing, and team discussionsContribute to technical design and architecture decisions (for more senior candidates)Explore and adopt new technologies and best practices where they add valueAbout you:Experience building backend systems in a professional environment (Scala, Java, or similar)Solid understanding of software design, APIs, and distributed systemsExperience working with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)Familiarity with SQL and database design (RDBMS; NoSQL is a plus)Interest or experience in event-driven architecture (Kafka or similar)Comfortable debugging and improving production systemsStrong problem-solving skills and a practical mindsetGood communication skills and ability to work in a collaborative teamProfessional working proficiency in EnglishExperience designing and operating large-scale, high-availability systemsAbility to lead technical design and mentor other engineersExperience making architectural tradeoffs and driving solutionsDemonstrated experience leveraging AI tools and technologies to improve workflows, enhance decision-making, or drive innovation.This position is preferably based in Brno, Czech RepublicNice to have: Experience with Scala or functional programmingExperience with Kafka or similar messaging systemsFamiliarity with Kubernetes and containerized environmentsFrontend experience (React / TypeScript)Experience in fintech, payments, or security-sensitive systemsWhy join our new 8am Brno hub?Founding Team Impact: Be a founding engineer of our new Brno R&D hub. After a brief 1-6 month integration with U.S. based teams, you will help form fully autonomous, locally-led squads with clear paths to Staff and leadership rolesDrive our "AI-First" Transformation: We are building a secure, massive-scale "Unified AI Platform". Depending on your squad, you will either help architect this core infrastructure (LLM routing, RAG, agent orchestration) or build directly on top of it.Build the Next Generation of Our Platform: Help shape the systems powering products used by more than 250,000 professionals. You’ll work on complex platform capabilities across payments, workflow automation, and AI-powered features as we expand into new professional service markets.Benefits and PerksWe offer a competitive, locally relevant benefits package designed to support your life in the Czech Republic while giving you access to global opportunities:Performance bonus opportunities and employee referral rewardsFlexible Time Off (FTO) and 13 paid public holidays aligned with the Czech calendarPaid sick leave with additional support through the Czech social security systemMaternity, paternity, and parental leave in line with Czech regulations, plus additional paid paternity leave from 8amFull statutory benefits, including public health insurance, social security, pension, and work accident coverageGrow Your CareerAccess to Coursera (including Gen AI Academy) and ongoing professional developmentClear growth paths, regular feedback, and opportunities for advancementWhat Makes 8am Different:International company environment with collaboration across Europe and the U.S.Oppor