Senior Backend Engineer

Nexus Mods is seeking two experienced Senior Backend Engineers to design, build, and scale APIs and systems for its core services. This role involves shaping features that impact the modding ecosystem, helping millions of gamers and creators, building high-traffic APIs, and improving performance and reliability. Engineers will tackle complex challenges related to dependencies, versioning, and compatibility, contributing to the platform's evolution and growth in gaming.

Must Have

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and APIs that power mod delivery, installation, publishing, and creator dashboards.
• Ensure services are performant, reliable, and secure at scale (tens of millions of users).
• Collaborate with Frontend, App, and DevOps Engineers in your pod to deliver end-to-end features.
• Contribute to product discovery by prototyping APIs, validating technical feasibility, and surfacing trade-offs early.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code.
• Set and maintain high standards and process: tests, CI/CD, documentation.
• Help mentor other engineers and contribute to shared standards across pods.
• Deep experience with at least one backend language (Ruby, PHP, Java, Go, Node.js, etc.).
• Experience designing and building APIs (REST and/or GraphQL).
• Solid experience with relational databases (Postgres, MySQL) and familiarity with NoSQL stores (Redis, ElasticSearch).
• Experience with distributed systems, queues, and event-driven architectures.
• Production experience with performance optimisation, caching and scalability.
• Hands-on experience deploying services with CI/CD pipelines and container orchestration (Docker/K8s).
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a cross-functional team.
• Ability to balance speed, quality and pragmatism in delivery.

Good to Have

• Familiarity with Ruby on Rails.
• Knowledge of authentication, identity management, and payments.
• Experience with search systems (ElasticSearch, Meilisearch).
• Understanding of gaming ecosystems (e.g. multiplayer services, content distribution, or digital marketplaces).
• Experience building tools for creators, modding communities, or user-generated content platforms.
• Passion for games and mods.

Perks & Benefits

• 4-day week of 32 hours, with no reduction in pay.
• £25 monthly allowance to spend on video games.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Private BUPA healthcare for you and your family.
• Flexible training budget.
• Regular social events throughout the year.

Description

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Senior Backend Engineer

Location: Remote with the UK or Europe

Salary range: £60,000 - £70,000 - compensation outside the UK will be adjusted based on location.

Please note: We are unable to sponsor international visas at this time.

Our Role:

We’re looking for 2 experienced Senior Backend Engineers to join our backend engineering team behind Nexus Mods’ core services. In this role, you will design, build, and scale the APIs and systems that power Nexus Mods’ ecosystem. This is a chance to work on problems most companies never see: massive scale, complex compatibility, and passionate user communities.

From discovery and experimentation, to delivery and scale, you’ll be hands-on in shaping features that directly impact the modding ecosystem:

• Helping millions of gamers discover, download, and manage mods effortlessly.
• Empowering creators to publish, distribute, and manage their work with confidence.
• Building high-traffic APIs that serve millions of requests per hour.
• Designing backend systems that support both web and desktop applications.
• Improving performance, scalability, and reliability of critical services.
• Creating tools that make modding safer, more accessible, easier and more fun.
• Experimenting with new features and quickly validating ideas with real users.
• Tackling complex challenges around dependencies, versioning, and compatibility.
• Identifying and tackling technical debut, ensuring our platform evolves to handle the next decade of growth in gaming.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and APIs that power mod delivery, installation, publishing, and creator dashboards.
• Ensure services are performant, reliable, and secure at scale (tens of millions of users).
• Collaborate with Frontend, App, and DevOps Engineers in your pod to deliver end-to-end features.
• Contribute to product discovery by prototyping APIs, validating technical feasibility, and surfacing trade-offs early.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code.
• Set and maintain high standards and process: tests, CI/CD, documentation.
• Help mentor other engineers and contribute to shared standards across pods.

Requirements

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• Deep experience with at least one backend language (Ruby, PHP, Java, Go, Node.js, etc.) and curiosity to learn others.
• Experience designing and building APIs (REST and/or GraphQL).
• Solid experience with relational databases (Postgres, MySQL) and familiarity with NoSQL stores (Redis, ElasticSearch).
• Experience with distributed systems, queues, and event-driven architectures.
• Production experience with performance optimisation, caching and scalability.
• Hands-on experience deploying services with CI/CD pipelines and container orchestration (Docker/K8s).
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a cross-functional team.
• Ability to balance speed, quality and pragmatism in delivery.

Bonus Skills

• Familiarity with Ruby on Rails.
• Knowledge of authentication, identity management, and payments.
• Experience with search systems (ElasticSearch, Meilisearch).
• Understanding of gaming ecosystems (e.g. multiplayer services, content distribution, or digital marketplaces).
• Experience building tools for creators, modding communities, or user-generated content platforms.
• Passion for games and mods. Whether that’s tweaking Skyrim load orders, building Minecraft servers, or diving into Baldur’s Gate 3 mods.

Benefits

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• We work a 4-day week of 32 hours, with no reduction in pay.
• An allowance of £25 each month to spend on video games (anything required for work is bought by the business!).
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Private BUPA healthcare for you and your family.
• A very flexible training budget.
• Regular social events throughout the year. Participation is optional!

About Nexus Mods

Established in 2001, Nexus Mods is the largest video game modding platform on the internet—a household name in the PC gaming ecosystem.

• 65M+ registered members
• 750K+ mods for 3,500+ games
• 18B+ mod downloads

We’re currently focused on product modernisation, driving growth and building infrastructure for the next 10 years of community-powered modding.

How We Work:

At Nexus Mods, engineers don’t disappear into silos. You’ll join a cross-functional product pod. An autonomous, outcome-focused team with everything needed to help ship real impact: Product Manager, Tech Lead, Backend/Frontend Engineers, App Developers, Designers QAs, Community & Content.

Pods own strategy, discovery, delivery, and results. That means you’re not just handed tickets, you help shape what gets built, test ideas with users, and see your work reach millions of gamers worldwide.

Diversity and Inclusion

We celebrate diversity and want you to bring your whole self to work.

Supporting an incredible community of tens of millions of users, we thrive on engaging as many views as possible to improve our platform. We see no reason why our culture should be any different.