Staff Back-end Engineer

About the role

This high‑impact individual contributor role operates at both tribe and organization level, defining critical problems, aligning teams, and driving solutions across Preply. You will partner closely with engineering and product leadership to shape technical direction and raise the bar for how we build and scale.

Key responsibilities

• Shape technical strategy and drive execution across the tribe.
• Lead architecture evolution, defining target architectures and overseeing migrations.
• Raise engineering excellence by improving developer experience, running RFCs and post‑mortems.
• Mentor senior engineers, influence hiring, and act as a technical multiplier.
• Make critical technical decisions, including build‑vs‑buy trade‑offs and vendor evaluations.

Required profile

• Strong foundation in software engineering and system thinking, with experience designing large‑scale systems.
• Hands‑on, strategic mindset; able to build proofs of concept and iterate quickly.
• End‑to‑end ownership from ambiguous problem definition to operational stability.
• Excellent communicator who can influence without formal authority.
• Product‑minded engineering approach, balancing technical trade‑offs with user impact.
• Comfort operating across domains, from new features to migrations.
• Proven ability to raise engineering standards through mentoring and process improvements.
• Experience using Agentic AI as a thought partner and establishing quality gates.

Required skills

• AI (including Agentic AI)
• API design
• Large‑scale system design

What we offer

• Open, collaborative and diverse culture.
• Generous monthly allowance for Preply lessons and a learning & development budget.
• Competitive financial package with equity, health insurance and leave allowance.
• Relocation assistance for candidates moving to Barcelona.
• Free mental‑health support platforms and Gympass wellness benefits.
• Opportunity to shape the lives of learners and tutors in 175+ countries.