Senior Lead Software Engineer - Backend

Overview Who we are Collaborative. Respectful. A place to dream and do. These are just a few words that describe what life is like at Toyota. As one of the world’s most admired brands, Toyota is growing and leading the future of mobility through innovative, high-quality solutions designed to enhance lives and delight those we serve. We’re looking for talented team members who want to Dream. Do. Grow. with us. An important part of the Toyota family is Toyota Financial Services (TFS), the finance and insurance brand for Toyota and Lexus in North America. While TFS is a separate business entity, it is an essential part of this world-changing company- delivering on Toyota's vision to move people beyond what's possible. At TFS, you will help create best-in-class customer experience in an innovative, collaborative environment. Toyota does not offer support or sponsorship of job applicants for employment-based visas or any other work authorization for this role now or in the future. You must have the right to work in the United States and not require Toyota support or sponsorship for immigration-related employment (e.g., H-1B, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, TN, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM, OPT, F-1 CPT, ‘job flexibility benefits’ [also known as I-140 or Adjustment of Status portability], etc.) now or in the future. You should not apply for this role if you will require Toyota to assist with immigration support or sponsorship now or in the future. Who We're Looking For At TFS, we're building next-generation products that redefine mobility for millions of customers worldwide. We're looking for a Sr Lead Engineer — Backend. An individual contributor at the principal level — who brings deep backend expertise, strong full-stack instincts, and the technical leadership to raise the bar across the entire engineering organization.This isn't a management role. It's for the engineer who is the go-to person in the room: the one who shapes architecture, mentors peers without being asked, digs into the hardest problems, and leaves every system better than they found it. You'll work across teams, influence technical direction, and be a force multiplier for everyone around you. This position is based in Plano, TX. The selected candidate will be expected to reside within a commutable distance of this location. What You'll Be Doing Serve as the technical authority for backend and platform architecture across one or more product domains, making high-impact decisions on patterns, tooling, and standardsDesign, build, and maintain full-stack features — from APIs and serverless services to the data models and event-driven workflows that power themLead technical design reviews, architecture discussions, and RFC processes — driving alignment across engineering teamsIdentify and resolve systemic issues: performance bottlenecks, reliability gaps, scaling constraints, and tech debt that slows teams downOwn complex debugging and troubleshooting across the full stack — from API latency to infrastructure misconfigurations to distributed system failuresDefine and champion engineering best practices: code quality, testing strategies, observability, and deployment safetyCollaborate closely with Engineering Managers, Product, and Front-End Engineering to shape roadmaps and ensure technical feasibilityMentor and grow engineers at all levels through code reviews, pairing, design feedback, and technical guidanceContribute to hiring by conducting technical interviews and helping define what great looks like for backend engineering at TFSProactively communicate technical risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations to both engineering and non-technical stakeholders What You Bring Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience7+ years of software engineering experience with a strong backend or full-stack focus and a track record of operating at a principal or staff engineer levelDeep expertise in designing and building serverless architectures on AWS, including:Lambda for computeAPI Gateway (REST and HTTP APIs) for service exposureDynamoDB or Aurora Serverless for data persistenceStep Functions or other workflow orchestration toolsEventBridge, SQS, or SNS for event-driven and async communicationS3 for object storage and data lake patternsCloudFront for API acceleration and edge cachingStrong proficiency in TypeScript and/or Python for backend services — you default to production-quality code and advocate for it across the codebaseProven ability to design, build, and maintain RESTful and GraphQL APIs, including API contract design, versioning, error handling, and type-safe tooling (e.g., OpenAPI, GraphQL Code Generator, tRPC)Solid understanding of Infrastructure as Code using AWS CDK, CloudFormation, or TerraformExperience with observability and monitoring tooling: CloudWatch, X-Ray, Datadog, or similar — you know how to instrument services, trace distributed requests, and respond to incidentsStrong understanding of security best practices: IAM policies, least-privilege access, secrets management (Secrets Manager, SSM Parameter Store), and data encryption at rest and in transitDeep experience debugging complex issues across distributed systems — network traces, distributed tracing, log analysis, and profilingExperience with testing at all levels: unit, integration, contract, and load testing for distributed systemsFamiliarity with containerized workloads (ECS Fargate, Docker) for services that don't fit the serverless modelStrong written and verbal communication — you can write a clear RFC, lead a design review, and explain a complex tradeoff to a non-technical stakeholder Added bonus if you have Master's degree in Computer Science or related fieldExperience in the financial services, banking, or insurance industryExperience designing multi-account AWS architectures with proper governance and guardrails (AWS Organizations, Control Tower)Familiarity with data streaming patterns using Kinesis, MSK (Managed Kafka), or similarExperience with GenAI integration on the backend (e.g., Bedrock, SageMaker endpoints, LLM orchestration patterns)Experience with CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation (CodePipeline, GitHub Actions, or similar)Hands-on experience with GraphQL federation or API gateway patterns for composing multiple servicesAWS certifications (Solutions Architect, Developer Associate, or DevOps Engineer)Experience contributing to or maintaining open-source projectsExperience defining engineering standards, writing ADRs, or leading org-wide technical initiatives What We’ll Bring During your interview process, our team can fill you in on all the details of our industry-leading benefits and career development opportunities. A few highlights include: A work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career, as well as tuition reimbursement Team Member Vehicle Purchase Discount Toyota Team Member Lease Vehicle Program (if applicable) Comprehensive health care and wellness plans for your entire family Toyota 401(k) Savings Plan featuring a company match, as well as an annual retirement contribution from Toyota regardless of whether you contribute (if applicable) Paid holidays and paid time off Referral services related to prenatal services, adoption, childcare, schools and more Tax Advantaged Accounts (Health Savings Account, Health Care FSA, Dependent Care FSA) Relocation assistance (if applicable) Belonging at Toyota Our success begins and ends with our people. We embrace all perspectives and value unique human experiences. Respect for all is our North Star. Applicants for our positions are considered without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, religion, military or veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by law. Have a question, need assistance with your application or do you require any special accommodations? Please send an email to talent.acquisition@toyota.com.