(Senior) Backend Engineer (Kotlin/Java)

What if you could literally change the face of the earth? One global rewilding mission at a time. That’s what we do at Planet Wild.

Planet Wild is a series A-funded, B-corp-certified, environmental startup from Berlin. But more importantly, it’s a global community that uses the power of digital storytelling to fix our planet – IRL. Think Greenpeace for Generation YouTube.

Every month, we go out on a mission to clean up oceans, replant forests, and bring back endangered species. Funded by a global community of everyday individuals, and executed together with rewilding pioneers around the globe, we are working at the frontlines to help nature bounce back.

What does that look like? In the last year, we went out to bring Europe’s largest land animal back from extinction, clean up the ocean floor at 40 meters depth, save dolphins from mass tourism, protect elephants with the help of bees, repopulate wild lynx in Germany, plant hundreds of food forests, rewild rivers, train guerilla wildfire fighters, and reintroduce Europe’s cutest bird back to its former home.

We built Planet Wild so that everyone can see the results of our work with their own eyes – transparent and in monthly video updates. It’s how we stay accountable and reach more people every month. Check out our work on YouTube.

Sounds like something you want to support? Great! We’re now looking for a (Senior) Kotlin / Java Backend Engineer to join our team in full-time.

What we’re looking for

• You are an experienced backend engineer with a demonstrable track record of building reliable and scalable backend systems in the JVM ecosystem.
• You have excellent knowledge of Kotlin or Java and a good understanding of design patterns and software architectures.
• You have significant experience in building distributed systems using event-based architectures (e.g. ActiveMQ) and designing RESTful APIs.
• You have experience with Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) like RudderStack.
• You have very good knowledge of relational databases, SQL and ORM frameworks.
• You have good knowledge of JavaScript and Typescript to support our Web team building interactive web experiences.
• You have been working with Kotlin Multiplatform and have experience in sharing code across backend, web and mobile.
• You are well versed in event-driven ecosystems and know your way around Docker, CI/CD and have experience in AWS (ActiveMQ, ECS, S3, RDS and Lambda are some of the technologies we use)
• You bring experience in building and maintaining payment solutions? This is a clear plus.
• You have experience in analytics platforms like Metabase? That’s a plus too.
• You are passionate about creating the backbone for a great mobile app experience and understand the role of tech in a holistic framework.
• You are calm and focused under pressure and re-orient quickly in changing environments. When you don’t fully understand something, you take it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
• You believe in clear and honest communication as the basis for effective and joyful teamwork. You consider work-life balance essential to long-term happiness and productivity.

What you’ll do

• You will help building and maintaining our backend infrastructure and proactively develop it further.
• You will design and help define the standards for our backend tech stack.
• You will help design, build and grow our KMP infrastructure across all our platforms.
• You will work directly with the CTO, bringing your expert knowledge and well-founded opinions to the table in all backend-related design decisions.
• You will work closely with our web team to assure cross-platform excellence.

What our tech stack looks like

• Our backend uses Kotlin, Kotlin Multiplatform, Postgres, ActiveMQ in a Spring Boot ecosystem.
• Furthermore, we work with GitLab CI, AWS, Docker, and everything that helps us to get the job done.
• Our mobile efforts are powered by native Kotlin / Swift apps using code sharing based on KMP.
• Our web stack utilizes Next.js, TypeScript, React.js, and also Webflow.

What we offer:

• High degree of autonomy
• 4-day work week (32h/week)
• Competitive full-time salary
• Positive social and environmental impact
• Spacious office in Berlin Mitte
• State of the art work equipment
• Gym membership, Deutschland Ticket, mental health online service and bike subscription
• Compensation for your personal CO2 footprint
• Become part of a creative, ambitious, and purpose-driven team
• These are the early days — your input will make a real difference!

We are committed to diversity and equity and seek to build an inclusive workplace that welcomes people from all different backgrounds.

The interview process will take approx. 2 weeks. If you are hungry to make a difference in the world, ready to work very hands-on and thrive in a low-ego team environment, we’re excited to hear from you.