Software Engineer, Game Backend and Live Services

About the Role We are seeking a Backend Engineer to architect and operate the live-service infrastructure for our next-generation mobile game. You will design scalable systems powering player accounts, progression, and social economies, while building the core platforms for live operations and telemetry. In this role, you will own production-scale services supporting thousands of concurrent players and mission-critical gameplay systems. Your focus will be on high-performance architecture and operational tooling that enable the team to tune gameplay and run live events seamlessly, without requiring client-side updates. Our environment leverages modern backend architecture and AI-assisted workflows to drive rapid, data-driven iteration while maintaining uncompromising service reliability. Responsibilities Backend Platform Development Design and implement scalable backend services supporting hundreds of thousands of concurrent playersBuild production backend systems in Java, focusing on reliability, performance, and maintainabilityDevelop core player services including accounts, progression, inventories, leaderboards, and social systemsDesign APIs and network protocols optimized for low latency and mobile network conditionsImplement caching, persistence, and distributed state management for high-throughput servicesLive Operations Infrastructure Build backend systems that enable live operations, including events, feature flags, configuration updates, and seasonal contentOperate backend services that power live-service gameplay, including feature rollouts, event management, and gameplay tuningSupport experimentation frameworks such as A/B testing and controlled feature rolloutsReliability & Production Operations Design backend systems for high availability, fault tolerance, and large-scale player concurrencyImplement strong observability through monitoring, logging, and distributed tracingOptimize backend performance and support capacity planning for live game operationsSupport production deployments and participate in debugging and incident response when necessaryAI-Native Development Workflow Drive the continuous improvement of an AI-assisted development lifecycle—utilizing AI coding tools, automated testing, and rapid iteration to accelerate backend delivery.Partner with designers and client/tools engineers to build AI-powered internal systems that streamline content creation and establish engineering best practices. Requirements Core Backend Engineering: 5+ years of experience building production-scale backend services in Java, with a focus on high-concurrency, low-latency, and distributed architectures.Systems Design: Proven ability to design scalable client-server systems, including expert knowledge of APIs, network protocols, and distributed state management.Data & Performance: Hands-on experience with relational/NoSQL databases (e.g., MySQL, Redis, Cassandra) and advanced performance optimization (caching, rate limiting, indexing).Game-Specific Logic: Familiarity with player-facing systems such as progression, inventories, social features, or online economies.Agile & Pragmatic: Comfortable in fast-moving environments, with the ability to balance robust engineering best practices with the pragmatic needs of rapid iteration.Cross-Team Collaboration: Strong communication skills to effectively partner with engineering, design, and product teams. Preferred Qualifications Live-Service & Scale: Experience with backend systems for large-scale consumer applications or live-service games.Cloud & Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with Cloud Providers (AWS/GCP), Microservices, and containerization (Docker/K8s).Data & Messaging: Proficiency in distributed messaging (Kafka/RabbitMQ) or data pipelines for player behavior analytics.Reliability & Tooling: Familiarity with Observability (monitoring/tracing) and a strong interest in AI-assisted engineering or automated development workflows. Why Join Us You’ll be part of a small, highly technical team building a modern mobile game platform where backend systems and live operations are core to the product. Your work will directly power systems used by thousands of players while enabling rapid experimentation and continuous improvement of the game. Employee Benefits Health, dental, and vision insurance401(k) plan with employer matchLife and disability insuranceGenerous paid holidays and time offFree daily lunch and snacks Recruitment Fraud Notice: First Fun will never ask candidates to pay fees, purchase equipment, send money, or provide banking information as part of the recruitment process. If you receive a suspicious recruitment message claiming to be from First Fun, please contact yannie@firstfun.com Recruitment Fraud Notice: First Fun will never ask candidates to pay fees, purchase equipment, send money, or provide banking information as part of the recruitment process. If you receive a suspicious recruitment message claiming to be from First Fun, please contact yannie@firstfun.com