About the Position

Staff Go Backend Developer (f/m/d)

Hamburg, Germany

adjoe

FULL_TIME

adjoe builds the technologies behind mobile apps growth and monetization. With our core product Playtime Arcade, we’ve become the global leader in rewarded advertising, an ad unit built on a simple premise: users earn real in-app rewards for engaging with new apps. The result is one of the most effective value exchanges in adtech, connecting advertisers and publishers with over 770 million users annually.

Architecting the sub-millisecond decision engine that powers 200 million daily ad interactions

The Demand Core team and backend platform squads build the foundational infrastructure that determines which of our thousands of active advertising campaigns are relevant to a user the moment they open Playtime. At our scale, system latency is a business failure: downtime means advertisers stop spending, users stop earning rewards, and publisher revenue stalls. As a Staff Backend Developer, you will own the architectural integrity, reliability, and long-term evolution of the distributed systems that power these decisions 200 million times every day across multiple teams.

Go microservices load the active ad campaign catalog into memory, evaluating 40+ targeting constraints and 30+ real-time signals like geo, fraud status, budget caps, to rank potential user performance in milliseconds. Beyond individual services, you will define architectural patterns across the entire ad interaction chain: high-throughput processing of clicks, views, MMP postbacks from Adjust and AppsFlyer, and reward-triggering in-app events. You will govern our hybrid messaging architecture using SNS/SQS and Kafka, standardize backend data patterns across DynamoDB, relational, and analytical data stores, and ensure our core ad scoring pipelines remain resilient under massive load.

Responsibilities

Define service boundaries, concurrency models, and runtime optimizations for our +99% Go microservice architecture.
Establish org-wide streaming standards, schema evolution, and CDC patterns to process billions of daily API events.
Standardize data patterns (sharding, replication, DR) across hundreds of terabytes in DynamoDB, MySQL, Druid, and Athena.
Partner with our Data Science team to architect the runtime infrastructure that serves predictive models and machine learning algorithms.
Drive alignment across squads through RFCs and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).
Mentor Senior engineers across an international engineering team.

Requirements

Production Golang Systems & Architecture Mastery: 7+ years of backend development experience with deep production Go expertise in distributed environments.
High-Throughput Event Streaming & Architecture Patterns: Deep experience in architecting and standardizing asynchronous microservice communication using event backbones like Kafka, SQS/SNS, and Kinesis.
Large-Scale Data Architecture & Platform Optimization: Understanding of database internals, distributed storage trade-offs, and low-level web standards.
Data Science & Algorithmic Integration at Scale: Ability to quickly grasp complex technical topics, distributed systems trade-offs, and applied mathematics.
Technical Leadership & Organizational Leverage: Fluent communication skills in spoken and written English.
Plus: Cloud Resilience & Tooling: Hands-on experience with continuous profiling, chaos engineering drills, and infrastructure automation using Terraform, Kubernetes, or AWS cloud networking.

We Offer

Go Big: Own the technical direction and platform architecture with impact on 770M users and push adtech boundaries.
Move Fast: Ship solutions multiple times a day, establish golden paths that unlock engineering speed, and keep momentum.
Be Direct: Solve complex architectural bottlenecks openly and drive alignment across cross-functional teams.
Thrive Together: Grow with and elevate a diverse, global team of engineers from over 40 different countries that learn from each other.
Have Fun: Celebrate wins, solve hard computer science challenges, and bring your energy.

About the Company

At adjoe, you’re not here to just close JIRA tickets, you’re shaping the architectural foundation behind one of the most impactful platforms in adtech. The systems and patterns you design will reach hundreds of millions of users and power billions of decisions every day.

We welcome applications from people who will contribute to the diversity of our company.

Tips & Tricks to Nail Your Interviews!

Skip cover letters

Since we want to keep everything fast and easy for you, we don’t want you to waste time on a cover letter – we would rather take a look at your CV and if it’s a match, we directly invite you to a first call.

Check your equipment

Test your internet connection, camera, mic, and speakers beforehand. Time for each interview is limited, and we’d like to spend as much of it as possible on getting to know each other. If the interview is online, always have your camera on! It’s way easier to create a meaningful interaction if we also see each other.

Do some research

We will give you all the information about the role & company’s culture, but it’s always nice to see how you perceive us after doing some online detective work. 😉

Prepare an elevator pitch

We will certainly ask you to briefly summarize your work experiences in a short overview. Think of what you’re going to say beforehand so you can fit all of the essential information in 2-3 minutes. Keep the goal of the interview in mind, and make sure everything you say is relevant to the position you’re applying for.

Structure your answers

Be specific, but don’t get caught up in details – following the STAR method can help you: Situation (set the scene and give the necessary details of your example) – Task (describe what your responsibility was in that situation) – Action (explain exactly what steps you took to address it) – Result (share what outcomes your actions achieved).

Let your personality shine

It is a recruiting process, but this doesn’t mean you can’t loosen up and showcase your personality. We are looking for an authentic character and we are open to having some small talk or a funny joke thrown into the mix. This might even show us that you’re a good cultural fit. Remember, next to all our ambition we like to have fun!

Come with your questions

At the end of the interview, we will ask you whether you have any questions for us. Use this time to get answers to all your questions or clear out any curiosities. Always have two or three questions prepared, whether about the position specifically or about career development, upcoming projects, or company culture.

Don’t be afraid of rescheduling

Even if you’ve already scheduled an interview, urgent things might pop up in your schedule or you might not feel fit to attend the interview. We are all humans & we treat these situations with empathy. It’s better to reschedule rather than not be 100% prepared to attend the interview. Simply communicate the change with your TA Manager and we will find a solution.

Finding Home Abroad – Relocation Stories

We’re supporting new colleagues from all over the world to move to Hamburg, Germany – see what they have to share about their relocation experience:

Read Relocation Article

Recruiting FAQs

Frequently asked questions

How long does your recruiting process take?

We aim to make our recruiting process as fast and efficient as possible, but the duration can vary depending on the role you are applying for. Usually we are really fast, though (less than 4 weeks).

Can I apply for more than one role?

Yes, if you see multiple roles open that match your skill set, you can apply for them simultaneously. Our Talent Acquisition team will review your application and contact you about the role that best seems to match your skills.

Can I apply for multiple companies within applike group?

Yes, if you see multiple roles that match your skill set, you can apply for them simultaneously. Our Talent Acquisition team will review your application and contact you about the role that best matches your skills.

I just handed in my application, what are the next steps?

Great! Please allow a few days for our team to review your application. We will contact you with the next steps as soon as possible.

How do I know I’m really being contacted by someone from applike group?

We’ll never ask you for money, fees, or sensitive information (like bank details, tax forms, or credit card numbers) during the hiring process.

If anything feels off, you can always double-check by reaching out to our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].

Once you’ve signed your contract, our HR team may request personal details, but only from our official email: [email protected].

Do I need to be located in Germany to be able to apply for your jobs?

No, we do provide full visa and relocation support.

Do you help with my relocation?

We do! You can find more information about our relocation support and the successful relocation of our colleagues here on this website.

What if I want to relocate together with my family?

No problem! Our visa and relocation support does also include your partner or kids. (Please be aware that legal marriage is often times a requirement to obtain a partner-visa).

Can I work remotely?

If you prefer 100% remote companies, applike is not the right place for you because we strongly believe in face-to-face collaboration. However, we did implement a hybrid working model where we are in the office at least three days a week (Monday, Tuesday,

Staff Go Backend Developer (f/m/d)

Job description