Senior Backend Engineer, Distributed Systems

About the Role

Every second, CargoGuard ingests GPS pings, identity checks, document captures, and fraud signals from freight moving across North America. As a Senior Backend Engineer on our Distributed Systems team, you will architect the high-throughput, fault-tolerant services that make real-time freight security possible. When a load is at risk, our platform has seconds to respond. You will build the systems that make those seconds count.

What You Will Do

• Design and own event-driven microservices that process millions of location and verification events per day with sub-second latency
• Build resilient streaming pipelines using Kafka or equivalent technologies, with exactly-once semantics where it matters
• Lead architecture reviews and set engineering standards for scalability, observability, and reliability
• Harden APIs consumed by TMS platforms, load boards, and enterprise shippers
• Drive incident response, root cause analysis, and long-term reliability improvements
• Mentor engineers and raise the technical bar across the organization

What We Require

• 8+ years of professional backend engineering experience, including 4+ years building distributed systems at scale
• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent depth of experience
• Expert-level proficiency in Go, Java, Rust, or Python, with production experience in more than one
• Deep hands-on experience with Kafka, Kinesis, or Pulsar and with high-volume time-series or geospatial data
• Proven track record designing systems that sustain 99.99% availability on AWS, GCP, or Azure
• Mastery of Kubernetes, infrastructure as code, and modern observability tooling
• Strong command of consistency models, partitioning, consensus, and failure modes in distributed environments

What Sets You Apart

• Experience in logistics, telematics, fintech, or fraud prevention platforms
• Open-source contributions to distributed systems or streaming projects
• Prior experience as a founding or early engineer at a high-growth startup

About Our Talent Network

CargoGuard is building the team that will define the next era of freight security. This position is part of our Talent Network: we are identifying exceptional people ahead of upcoming openings. Every submission is reviewed by our leadership team, and we reach out directly as roles open that match your background.

CargoGuard is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every background and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

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