Senior Backend Engineer

About Us Scotch is building the next-generation operating system for beverage alcohol retailers — combining POS, payments, back office, and e-commerce into a platform purpose-built for liquor stores. We’re modernizing one of the oldest industries in the world: the $1.6T beverage alcohol market. Our platform helps retailers run more efficiently through streamlined payments, inventory management, reporting, and day-to-day operations. Our founders came from Skupos (acquired 2023) and Drizly (acquired by Uber). We've raised $28M from VMG Partners, First Round, Lerer Hippeau, Watchfire, and Toba Capital, with angels including the founder of Drizly and early Toast executives, and in 2026, closed a $20M Series A. Forbes has recognized Scotch as a leader in liquor retail tech. Position Overview Scotch is hiring an experienced backend-leaning full stack engineer to own features end-to-end across our Rails + Hotwire application — from concept through deployment. This role carries significant technical ownership: data modeling, database performance, and background job architecture on top of standard feature delivery. It's a senior individual contributor role, not a management position, but one with real influence over engineering standards and process. Key Responsibilities Design, develop, and ship robust full stack features in Rails and HotwireOwnership of the full development lifecycle — concept, design, testing, and deploymentOwn data modeling, database design, and query performance (PostgreSQL)Build and maintain background job processing and asynchronous workflowsOptimize application performance, scalability, and resource utilizationPartner with cross-functional teams to turn requirements into technical solutionsConduct code reviews and uphold coding standards and best practicesDrive continuous improvement of development processes and workflows Qualifications & Skills 4+ years of professional backend web development experienceStrong proficiency in Ruby or similar languageSolid understanding of Rails application architecture and server-side patternsExperience designing and building RESTful APIs, and working with JSON and other data-exchange formatsStrong database skills — schema design, query optimization, and migrations (e.g., PostgreSQL)Experience with version control (e.g., Git)Understanding of secure coding practices and application securityExcellent problem-solving and debugging skills, with strong communication and collaborationUnderstanding of AI tools and proficiency in applying them (but not during the interview process unless expressly stated) Nice to Haves Experience with POS/commerce systems, payment workflows, payment processing, and gateway integrationExperience and comfort with the speed and demands of early-stage startupsFamiliarity with background job frameworks and best practices (e.g., GoodJob, Sidekiq)Experience with caching, message queues, and third-party API integrationsExperience with CI/CD pipelines and best practices for managing production releasesFamiliarity with Infrastructure (AWS, Heroku)Experience with observability and monitoring (logging, metrics, tracing) Compensation & Benefits Compensation: The anticipated base salary range for this position is $160,000–$180,000. Individual offers are based on a variety of factors, including experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity. Competitive equity packageComprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverageUnlimited flexible PTO Why Scotch? Interesting work, solving real challenges. POS terminal engineering means hardware integration, offline resilience, and payment security. Real constraints make more exciting problems to solve.Full ownership. You'll touch architecture decisions, set coding standards, and see your work in production at stores across the country.The domain is growing. Scotch just closed a $20M Series A off 500%+ YoY growth. The liquor retail POS market is fragmented and underserved, and our engineering team is building something with real staying power.Software people depend on. Every shift, store managers and associates are using what you build. The feedback loop is short and the stakes are real, which makes the craft matter even more.AI is built into how the company works. The product is AI-native, and the engineering culture reflects that. This is a place where using AI tools to move faster is expected and encouraged. Scotch is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse perspectives and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.