Principal Backend Engineer

About D3:
D3 is transforming the $340B+ domain industry into a new financial primitive through DomainFi. This first-ever interoperable network connects traditional domains with Web3 ecosystems to financialize domains as a major asset class. Drawing on over 40 years of combined domain expertise across .com, .net, .org, .xyz, .inc, .tv and 200+ other TLDs, D3 has raised over $30M from top investors including Paradigm and Coinbase Ventures.
Job Overview:
This is a hybrid role in San Francisco or Los Angeles that offers extraordinary creative freedom and ownership in revolutionizing how domains become financialized assets. As a Principal Backend Engineer role, you will drive the design of scalable, reliable, and secure backend solutions that power our user-facing applications, including our Web2/Web3-compatible Registrar. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in event-driven architectures and a proven track record of building highly scalable, fault-tolerant distributed systems.

Responsibilities:

1. Collaborate with the product team to understand requirements and translate them into technical specifications and features.
2. Design, implement, and maintain backend services to support the development of new features for our ICANN-accredited Registrar platform.
3. Design and implement backend services to support the integration of the D3 Protocol for tokenizing domains onto various blockchains.
4. Develop backend features to support Web2/Web3 domain marketplaces, enabling users to buy, sell, and trade domains seamlessly.
5. Build robust systems for payment processing, integrating both fiat and cryptocurrency payment gateways.
6. Ensure code quality through code reviews, testing, and debugging.
7. Maintain and optimize the performance of existing codebase and address any bugs or issues that arise.
8. Stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, frameworks, and best practices in web development.

Qualifications:

1. 8+ years of experience designing, developing, and deploying highly scalable, distributed backend systems in production environments.
2. Expertise in building and maintaining event-driven architectures and asynchronous processing using tools like Kafka, RabbitMQ, or equivalent messaging systems.
3. Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field. Relevant certifications and additional coursework are a plus.
4. Minimum 5 years of professional experience in backend development using Node.js and MySQL/Postgres.
5. Basic understanding of blockchain architecture and the ability to interact with smart contracts using tools like Web3.js, Ethers.js, or similar libraries.
6. Familiarity with Git version control and Agile methodologies for collaborative development.
7. Strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and a self-motivated attitude, with a willingness to learn new technologies in a fast-paced startup environment.
8. Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively both independently and within cross-functional teams to achieve business goals.

Pluses:

• Familiarity with Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) used in domain systems
• Familiarity with NestJS and GraphQL.
• DevOps experience with Kubernetes, Digital Ocean, Google Cloud, AWS, and Linux environments.

Join our dynamic team and be part of the forefront of the domain industry while working with cutting-edge web3 technologies. If you're ready to make an impact, enhance your skills, and contribute to our exciting journey, we would love to hear from you.

To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter, and portfolio (if applicable) showcasing your relevant projects and contributions.