Lead Software Engineer

Emergent Software is hiring a remote direct-hire Lead Software Engineer to design, build, and scale a partner-facing API platform. This leadership role centers on driving the engineering function and coordinating cross-functional collaboration for a new SaaS integrations initiative. The position offers a remote work arrangement with a salary range of USD 140,000 to 160,000 per year and is based in Minneapolis, MN.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and evolution of a partner-facing API platform.
• Architect and maintain a secure, well-versioned, developer-friendly public API with emphasis on backward compatibility, authentication, rate limiting, and documentation.
• Define and implement API architecture, standards, and best practices.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership through architecture guidance, code reviews, mentoring, and engineering best practices.
• Own the long-term technical strategy and roadmap for the platform.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, project managers, and engineering teams across multiple platforms.
• Coordinate the work of distributed engineering resources, including international contractors.
• Own production systems for partner APIs, including monitoring, observability, incident response, alerting, performance optimization, reliability, and operational readiness.
• Drive integration efforts with external SaaS platforms and partners.
• Help establish engineering processes, technical direction, and team standards as the platform grows.
• Break down complex initiatives into actionable workstreams and translate business requirements into technical deliverables.
• Develop project plans, coordinate resources, and drive timely delivery of key initiatives.
• Contribute to architecture and technical decision-making across services and platforms built in multiple languages.
• Serve as both a technical leader and hands-on contributor during the initial build phase.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience developing web applications, including leadership or mentoring of engineers.
• Extensive experience designing, securing, documenting, and operating REST APIs with authentication, versioning, and lifecycle management.
• Proven track record of managing and supporting production systems.
• Hands-on experience with AWS services, especially API Gateway and ECS, plus related cloud-native technologies.
• Strong TypeScript development experience.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and project coordination capabilities.
• Ability to quickly become productive in unfamiliar codebases and technology stacks.
• Experience overseeing live customer-facing systems, including monitoring, observability, incident response, and reliability engineering.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Technologies

• REST
• AWS
• API Gateway
• ECS
• TypeScript
• C#/Java/Go/Python/Ruby/Node.js
• Terraform
• CloudFormation
• AWS CDK

Nice to have skills

• Experience working across multiple backend languages such as C#, Java, Go, Python, Ruby, Node.js, or TypeScript.
• Experience designing and delivering public, partner-facing, or developer-focused APIs with developer documentation.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, or AWS CDK.
• Background in Agile, Scrum, or Kanban environments.
• Experience with test automation, contract testing, and test-driven development.
• Experience with SaaS platforms.
• Familiarity with web application and API security best practices.
• Experience leading distributed or global engineering teams.

Our vetting process

1. Application (5 minutes)
2. Online Assessment (40-60 minutes)
3. Initial Video Interview (45 minutes)
4. Hiring Manager Phone Interview (30 minutes)
5. Hiring Manager Video Interview (60 minutes)
6. Hiring Team Interview
7. Job Offer!