Define the long-term technical strategy and architecture for a CFTC-regulated exchange platform while leading company-level technical initiatives. Partner with executive leadership to influence the product roadmap and mentor senior engineering staff to foster a strong technical culture.
Principal / Senior Staff Backend Engineer
Application Deadline: 20 November 2026
Department: Engineering
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Remote - USA
Compensation: $200,000 - $250,000 / year
Description
We’re looking for a Principal / Senior Staff Backend Engineer (IC5) to shape the technical strategy of ProphetX as a company. You’ll be a recognized technical authority who solves our hardest problems, sets multi-year architectural direction for our exchange platform, and multiplies the impact of the entire engineering organization.
Key Responsibilities
Define the long-term technical strategy and architecture for the exchange platform, aligned to business and regulatory goals.
Lead company-level technical initiatives with ambiguous scope and significant business risk or opportunity.
Drive critical decisions on scalability, resilience, and security for systems operating in a CFTC-regulated environment.
Evaluate and introduce new technologies, build-versus-buy choices, and engineering practices at an organizational level.
Advise executive and product leadership on technical feasibility, risk, and investment.
Mentor staff and senior engineers, and help shape hiring, leveling, and engineering culture.
Represent ProphetX’s engineering depth with partners, regulators, and the broader technical community where appropriate.
Partner with product and leadership to influence roadmap and prioritization with technical insight.
Proactively seek development opportunities and share knowledge with peers and junior engineers.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
10+ years of backend and distributed systems experience, including a track record of org- or company-wide technical impact
Expert-level command of Go, Java, C++, or Python, and of large-scale system design
Proven experience architecting and evolving mission-critical, low-latency, high-availability platforms (exchange, trading, payments, or comparable)
Mastery of event-driven architecture, real-time APIs, data systems, and cloud-native infrastructure
Deep experience with reliability, security, and compliance in regulated environments
History of mentoring and growing senior and staff engineers
Exceptional communication and influence skills, from engineers to executives
Proactive, growth-focused, and highly adaptable with a strong sense of ownership
Prediction markets, fintech, sports betting, or exchange experience is a plus
Why Join Us!
Compensation & Ownership
Competitive compensation aligned to role and market
Equity opportunities so you share in what we’re building
A clear connection between impact and reward
Health & Wellbeing
Medical, dental, and vision coverage
Flexible time off built on trust and accountability
A culture that respects your time and avoids unnecessary meetings
Remote & Flexible Work
Fully remote within the U.S.
Flexibility to work in the way that helps you do your best work
The Role
Set the multi-year technical direction for a live, CFTC-regulated exchange platform, as a recognized technical authority across the company
Take on a high-impact IC role with direct influence on executive and product decisions, build-versus-buy choices, and engineering culture
Help define what resilient, secure, and compliant exchange architecture looks like as a brand-new asset class scales
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