Senior Backend Engineer – Lodging and Cars

Hopper

Senior Backend Engineer developing and scaling high-volume, reliable travel booking services. Joining the Lodging and Cars Supply team at Hopper to integrate new partners and optimize systems.

Posted 7/1/2026full-timeRemote • New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $250,000 - $350,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Distributed SystemsGRPCJavaKotlinMicroservicesScala

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Execute end-to-end technical integrations with external lodgings, cars and GDS partners while navigating complex communication protocols and distributed data schemas.
Write clean, performant code in Scala or other JVM languages to maintain, evolve, and uphold rigorous engineering standards for mission-critical lodging services.
Explore and troubleshoot existing complex codebases to deep-dive into infrastructure and resolve production issues in a distributed system environment.
Partner with Product Managers and Operations to decompose business requirements into technical tasks and estimate delivery timelines.
Take full ownership of the development lifecycle for new product features, from initial technical implementation and testing to production deployment.
Contribute to the design of highly resilient, low-latency services to ensure a seamless booking experience for customers under high load.
Participate in thorough code reviews and identify opportunities to optimize scalability, performance, and system health.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Strong proficiency in Scala or other JVM languages, such as Java or Kotlin, with a focus on building scalable, high-throughput services.
A proven track record of owning the technical implementation, testing, and deployment of features within a microservices architecture.
Practical experience with distributed systems and service communication methods including gRPC, Pub/Sub, and REST.
The ability to onboard quickly and handle technical ambiguity by independently exploring and executing technical plans within existing infrastructure.
Excellent communication skills and a "bias for action" to effectively collaborate with cross-functional squads in a remote-first environment.
A professional curiosity for the travel tech industry and a commercial mindset focused on delivering reliable booking fulfillment.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Well-funded and proven startup with large ambitions, competitive salary and the upsides of pre-IPO equity packages.
Unlimited PTO.
Carrot Cash travel stipend.
Access to co-working space on demand through FlexDesk AND Work-from-home stipend.
Please ask us about our very generous parental leave, much above industry standards!.
Entrepreneurial culture where pushing limits and taking risks is everyday business.
Open communication with management and company leadership.
Small, dynamic teams = massive impact.
100% employer paid Medical, Dental and Vision coverage for employees.
Access to Disability & Life insurance.
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA).
DCA/ FSA and access to 401k plan.

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Hard Skills & Tools

ScalaJavaKotlinMicroservicesDistributed SystemsService CommunicationCode ReviewPerformance TuningTechnical ImplementationProduction Deployment

Soft Skills

Excellent CommunicationBias for ActionCollaboration