Tech Lead, Engineering at Deel

Who we are is what we do. Deel is the all-in-one payroll and HR platform for global teams. Our vision is to unlock global opportunity for every person, team, and business. Built for the way the world works today, Deel combines HRIS, payroll, compliance, benefits, performance, and equipment management into one seamless platform. With AI-powered tools and a fully owned payroll infrastructure, Deel supports every worker type in 150+ countries—helping businesses scale smarter, faster, and more compliantly. Among the largest globally distributed companies in the world, our team of 7,000 spans more than 100 countries, speaks 74 languages, and brings a connected and dynamic culture that drives continuous learning and innovation for our customers. Why should you be part of our success story? As the fastest-growing Software as a Service (SaaS) company in history, Deel is transforming how global talent connects with world-class companies – breaking down borders that have traditionally limited both hiring and career opportunities. We're not just building software; we're creating the infrastructure for the future of work, enabling a more diverse and inclusive global economy. In 2024 alone, we paid $11.2 billion to workers in nearly 100 currencies and provided healthcare and benefits to workers in 109 countries—ensuring people get paid and protected, no matter where they are. Our momentum is reflected in our achievements and customer satisfaction: CNBC Disruptor 50,  Forbes Cloud 100, Deloitte Fast 500, and repeated recognition on Y Combinator’s top companies list – all while maintaining a 4.83 average rating from 15,000 reviews across G2, Trustpilot, Captera, Apple and Google. Your experience at Deel will be a career accelerator. At the forefront of the global work revolution, you'll tackle complex challenges that impact millions of people's working lives. With our momentum—backed by a $17.3 billion valuation and $1 B in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in just over five years—you'll drive meaningful impact while building expertise that makes you a sought-after leader in the transformation of global work. We’re looking for a Tech Lead with deep fulltack and database expertise, someone who understands how systems behave under load, how data moves, and how to make the right trade-offs. You won’t be only measured by how well you write Node.js, you’ll be measured by: - The problems you choose to solve - The decisions you make around data and architecture - Your ability to lead through influence and drive outcomes WHAT YOU’LL DO - Identify and prioritize high-impact technical and product problems - Design and guide scalable backend and data systems - Own architectural decisions across data, services, and system boundaries - Ensure systems are efficient, reliable, and scalable under real-world conditions - Lead execution through others (not just individual contribution) - Partner with Product to ensure technical work drives business outcomes WHAT MATTERS MOST DEEP DATABASE EXPERTISE (CRITICAL) - Strong knowledge of relational databases (SQL) - Experience with: - Query optimization - Indexing strategies - Transactions & isolation levels - Concurrency control - Ability to reason about performance and trade-offs at the data layer This is the most important technical requirement and a known gap in most candidates DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS & SYSTEM DESIGN - Strong understanding of: - Queues, message brokers, async processing - Microservices and service boundaries - Load balancing, CDNs, and request lifecycle - Ability to design end-to-end systems, not just isolated services BACKEND FOUNDATIONS - Strong fundamentals in: - APIs, services, and system architecture - OOP and clean design principles - Node.js / TypeScript knowledge - You should be able to work in it, but it is not the differentiator PRODUCT & BUSINESS THINKING - Understands why something should be built, not just how - Makes pragmatic decisions (80/20 mindset) aligned with business impact - Avoids over-engineering TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP THROUGH INFLUENCE - Leads through clarity, reasoning, and trust, not authority - Can drive alignment across engineers and stakeholders - Delegates effectively and scales impact through others WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF FRONTEND (REACT): - Understands performance implications and integration points - Not expected to focus on UI or design - Strong communication: - Explains technical trade-offs clearly to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT: The Tech Lead we need: - Finds the right problems - Prioritizes them based on business impact Designs solutions and drives execution through the team THIS ROLE MIGHT NOT BE A FIT IF… - You have Weak understanding of SQL, transactions, or concurrency - Talks about tools/frameworks but lacks systems thinking - Focuses on technical complexity over impact - Relies on authority instead of influence - Over-engineers instead of making pragmatic trade-offs - Cannot delegate or scale through others Total Rewards Our workforce deserves fair and competitive pay that meets them where they are. With scalable benefits, rewards, and perks, our total rewards programs reflect our commitment to inclusivity and access for all.  Some things you’ll enjoy - Stock grant opportunities dependent on your role, employment status and location - Additional perks and benefits based on your employment status and country - The flexibility of remote work, including optional WeWork access At Deel, we’re an equal-opportunity employer that values diversity and positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of  race, religion, sex, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, pregnancy or maternity or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Unless otherwise agreed, we will communicate with job applicants using Deel-specific emails, which include @deel.com [Upgrade to PRO to see link] and other acquired company emails like @payspace.com [Upgrade to PRO to see link] and @paygroup.com [Upgrade to PRO to see link] You can view the most up-to-date job listings at Deel by visiting our careers page [Upgrade to PRO to see link] Deel is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects different abilities, backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, identities and perspectives. Deel will provide accommodations on request throughout the recruitment, selection and assessment process for applicants with disabilities. If you require accommodations, please inform our Talent Acquisition Team via this link [Upgrade to PRO to see link] and a team member will be in touch to ensure your equal participation. If you have difficulty accessing the form, please email at [Upgrade to PRO to see contact]. As part of our hiring process, we primarily rely on interviews and role-related assessments. In limited cases, we may also consider informal background information relevant to the role, in line with our privacy and fairness obligations. This application process does utilise Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT) and AI systems to assist in evaluating candidates based on experience level, technical skills and qualifications. As a fully remote company, we also utilise AI-powered deepfake and fraud detection technologies to verify the authenticity of candidate identities and interactions during assessments and interviews. This processing is conducted in compliance with applicable Data Protection, AI Governance and Labour Laws. We ensure human oversight is maintained in all final hiring decisions. Your personal data is not used to train AI models. For more information on how we process your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy [Upgrade to PRO to see link] - For NYC Residents: In accordance with NYC Local Law 144, an independent bias audit has been conducted on AEDT; results are available at Ashby [Upgrade to PRO to see link] Covey [Upgrade to PRO to see link]