Lead Back-end Engineer

We Are Redefining How People Approach Their Health

ZOE is the science and nutrition company leading a movement to transform the health of millions.

We exist because the food we eat is making us sick. Most of what we are taught about food is wrong.

ZOE runs the world’s largest nutrition science study to find scientifically proven solutions.

Our randomized controlled trial of ZOE proves that if you eat the right food for your body, you can feel healthier in weeks and be on track for more healthy years.

ZOE can change the way you eat, feel, and live. We host world-leading scientists on our podcast and bring proven science to your plate with Daily30+, our 30+ plant supplement.

Over 100,000 people rely on ZOE Membership, our personalized nutrition program, to make smarter food choices. ZOE Membership turns complex science into clear step-by-step actions, helping you improve your health with every meal.

ZOE means life — and you can change your life with food.

Visit our career page and become a ZOEntist 🚀

👥 About the Team

The Activation Team is a cross-functional team that builds app experiences that engage members, helping them discover ZOE’s value from day one. Our mission is to optimise engagement, retention and conversion.

💼 About the Role

At ZOE, we’re on a mission to create impactful, scalable engineering solutions. We’re looking for a Lead Back-end Engineer to join our dynamic team. As a leader in our cross-functional agile team, you'll collaborate with a diverse group of talented individuals, including product managers, product designers, data scientists, and marketing experts, to shape our product's future.

You’ll lead the design of systems in critical areas such as data collection, payments, subscription management, content delivery, authentication, and authorisation. Your ability to solve complex problems and drive fast, high-impact deliveries will directly contribute to our mission.

🚀 About Our Stack

🔙 Backend: Kotlin / Spring Boot, Python / FastAPI & Django

🛠 Tools: Google Pub/Sub, Grafana, Firebase Auth

🚀 CI/CD: ArgoCD, GitHub Actions

📊 Data: DBT, BigQuery, Airflow

☁️ Infrastructure: GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform

🎨 Frontend: TypeScript, React Native, Next.js

📢 Our Hiring Process

Stage 1: Talent Acquisition Screen

A conversation with our Talent team to learn more about you and share insights into ZOE and the role.

Stage 2: Hiring Manager Screen

A deep dive into your experience, skills, and how you approach challenges.

Stage 3: Technical Interviews

Async Communication Exercise – A take-home task to assess your communication and problem-solving skills.

Coding Interview – Solve real-world coding challenges with our engineers.

System Design Interview – Showcase how you design scalable and efficient systems.

Stage 4: Final Round Interview

Hiring Manager Behavioural Interview – Discuss collaboration, problem-solving, and impact with a cross-functional partner.

Leadership Behavioural Interview – Engage in a values-driven conversation with our leadership team, focusing on alignment and decision-making.

You'll be...

• Working autonomously in a collaborative and supportive agile team, partnering with product managers, designers, data scientists, and marketing teams to deliver meaningful solutions and drive this behaviour in others.
• Designing systems that scale and remain performant as we grow, focusing on data collection, payments, subscriptions, content delivery, and more.
• Helping the team operate effectively by breaking problems down into simpler ones for fast delivery and impact.
• Working in a self-organising team with high levels of trust and collaboration. We believe in empowering our engineers to lead initiatives.
• Taking responsibility to ensure our engineering solutions are scalable, maintainable, testable and follow best practices.
• Mentoring engineers across the organisation, helping them grow and improve their skills while positively influencing our team processes and impact.

We think you'll be a great fit...

• 7+ years of hands-on experience in back-end development, including leading technical decisions, mentoring engineers, and improving system architecture.
• You love the challenge of designing architecture that scales and performs as we grow.
• You are a strong communicator who can share your ideas while listening to and learning from others with different perspectives.
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment and are comfortable working on various challenges.
• You are comfortable working with many unknowns - building iteratively in fast feedback loops.
• You enjoy working in a collaborative and flexible environment, wearing many hats, and taking on new challenges outside your comfort zone.
• Value diversity and inclusion and are passionate about creating a space where everyone’s voices are heard, respected, and celebrated.
• You’re someone who brings joy and enjoys building meaningful work relationships.

The experience, skills, and attributes listed above reflect what we believe will contribute to success in this role. If you're passionate about ZOE and the opportunity, but don't meet 100% of the criteria, we still encourage you to apply. We are committed to supporting growth and are happy to offer upskilling opportunities where possible.

At ZOE, we are committed to offering competitive and equitable compensation that reflects the value of each role and aligns with regional labor market standards. Our approach to compensation goes beyond just base salary — we offer a comprehensive package that includes base pay and stock options, ensuring that every team member is rewarded for their contributions to the company’s growth and success.

We believe that building a thriving team requires not only providing fair and competitive compensation but also fostering an environment where success is shared collectively. Our total compensation package is designed to support the well-being of our employees, recognise their individual contributions, and empower them to grow alongside ZOE.

At ZOE we understand the significant role our benefits play in motivating, inspiring and safeguarding our employees' well-being. Our benefits strategy is thoughtfully designed to echo our mission and values, recognising the diverse needs arising from different life stages of our ZOEntists.

Our approach to benefits takes an inclusive and flexible view of both personal and professional growth. From competitive health insurance and wellness packages to inclusive parental policies, building connection, and tailored professional development programs, we've got you covered.

At ZOE, we continue to build a benefits package that invests in our team members’ long-term personal and professional growth and wellbeing, adding to this list as it evolves.

 We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive team where every individual can bring their authentic self to work. We believe that this is key to our success and are dedicated to positively impacting the tech industry. As part of our commitment to equal opportunities, we encourage candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. We ensure a respectful and inclusive environment for all and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, marital status, disability, or age. If you require any accommodations during the interview process, please feel free to inform us, and we will make every effort to support your needs.