Senior Software Engineer – GraphQL

About the Role

A prominent Australian digital and consumer technology company is seeking three Senior Software Engineers to join a high-performing team responsible for a critical platform that supports large-scale web and mobile experiences. This role focuses on a high-throughput GraphQL platform managing millions of requests weekly and billions of operations monthly. The team is transitioning from a centralized GraphQL architecture to a modern federated model with team-owned subgraphs. As a Senior Engineer, you will be instrumental in enhancing reliability, performance, scalability, and developer experience, while guiding the platform's future direction.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and evolve production GraphQL services.
• Design scalable backend solutions utilizing Node.js and TypeScript.
• Manage GraphQL aspects such as schema design, resolvers, performance optimization, caching, and observability.
• Troubleshoot and resolve intricate production issues across distributed systems.
• Enhance platform reliability, scalability, resilience, and developer workflows.
• Contribute to the architectural shift towards Apollo Federation and federated subgraphs.
• Collaborate closely with frontend, backend, and product teams throughout the organization.
• Deploy, manage, and resolve issues in production services hosted on AWS.
• Identify and rectify recurring technical challenges with systemic improvements.
• Mentor fellow engineers and influence technical strategy as a senior contributor.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Extensive backend engineering experience using Node.js and TypeScript.
• Proven production-level proficiency in GraphQL, focusing on API construction and operation rather than just consumption.
• Hands-on experience with Apollo Server and/or Apollo Studio.
• Strong expertise in GraphQL schema design, resolver implementation, and integrating downstream services.
• Deep understanding of performance considerations in GraphQL including caching strategies, dealing with N+1 queries, latency, and throughput.
• Experience with observability, tracing, production troubleshooting, and ensuring system reliability.
• Expertise in building or managing Backend-for-Frontend (BFF), API gateway, or API aggregation layers.
• Robust AWS experience encompassing deployment and management of live production environments.
• Background in handling systems with high scale and intense traffic.
• Excellent communication abilities and capability to collaborate with diverse teams.
• A proactive attitude with a strong sense of ownership and initiative.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Apollo Federation, federated GraphQL architectures, or managing team-owned subgraphs.
• Background in decomposing monolithic GraphQL platforms into federated schemas.
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration technologies like Docker, ECS, and Kubernetes.
• Experience in Python to support legacy services.
• Knowledge of .NET frameworks.
• Work history in large-scale consumer technology, marketplace, e-commerce, or digital product environments.
• Utilization of AI-assisted engineering tools to boost productivity and code quality.

Additional Information

If you are a Senior Software Engineer with strong GraphQL platform experience keen on complex backend and distributed systems challenges, this is an excellent opportunity to contribute and grow. The position is based in Melbourne and requires onsite attendance. Interested candidates can initiate contact for further discussion.