Sr. Backend Engineer (Node.js) at ApplaudoStudios

About You You are a senior-level Backend Engineer (Node.js) who thrives in challenging environments and enjoys taking ownership of complex systems to transform them into secure, scalable, and production-ready solutions. You are highly hands-on and comfortable working with evolving or partially structured codebases. You can quickly assess risks, identify critical issues, and execute remediation strategies under tight timelines. You value clean code, security best practices, and reliable system behavior. You collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, communicate technical challenges clearly, and play a key role in stabilizing applications and restoring confidence in production systems. You are motivated by making a tangible impact and contributing to the successful relaunch and future scalability of a critical platform. You Bring to Applaudo the Following Competencies: • 5+ years of hands-on experience in backend development using Node.js. • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or equivalent professional experience. • Strong experience working with REST APIs and third-party integrations. • Proven experience handling legacy systems, codebase audits, or technical recovery scenarios. • Solid understanding of application security best practices, including secure handling of sensitive data. • Hands-on experience with AWS environments and services. • Experience setting up or troubleshooting CI/CD pipelines. • Strong experience working with PostgreSQL databases (RDS preferred). • Familiarity with proxies, CORS, and common web security vulnerabilities (e.g., SSRF). • Ability to work in fast-paced environments with ambiguous or incomplete documentation. • Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to prioritize issues based on business impact. • Experience collaborating with mobile teams (React Native is a plus). • Advanced English proficiency is required, as you will work directly with US-based clients.You Will Be Accountable for the Following Responsibilities: • Take ownership of the Node.js backend and perform a full technical assessment of the codebase. • Identify and remediate critical security vulnerabilities and insecure integrations. • Refactor unstable or low-quality code to improve reliability, maintainability, and performance. • Stabilize core application flows required for production readiness. • Re-establish codebase ownership by organizing and migrating repositories within the client environment. • Analyze and restore CI/CD pipelines across repositories and environments. • Set up and validate staging environments to support testing and release processes. • Audit and stabilize third-party integrations such as payments and external platforms. • Collaborate with QA and stakeholders to validate functionality and prioritize fixes. • Support release readiness and launch execution ensuring system stability. • Enforce a feature-freeze approach focused on stabilization and critical fixes. • Contribute to defining a post-launch roadmap to support scalability and future development. • Continuously improve system security, performance, and operational stability.