Software Engineer (Server)

Job Description:

Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.

Rakuten is the most rewarding way to shop, giving millions of members Cash Back when they buy from their favorite brands. As a leading shopping platform, Rakuten partners with thousands of top brands across apparel, beauty and wellness, grocery, travel, on-demand services, subscriptions, and dining, helping members save on everyday purchases. Since 1999, Rakuten members have earned more than $4.6 billion in Cash Back, making it the largest Cash Back platform of its kind. Learn more at Rakuten.com.

Job Summary:
In this role, you will design, develop, and maintain server-side software applications to meet user needs and business objectives. You will analyze requirements, write clean and efficient code, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable and robust backend solutions. Your role will involve debugging and improving existing applications, ensuring optimal performance, and integrating new features to enhance functionality. With a strong foundation in backend development and problem-solving skills, you will contribute to creating innovative solutions that align with organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administers technical tasks within assigned projects, ensuring adherence to timelines and specifications.
• Analyzes somewhat complex application requirements and provides recommendations for optimal solutions.
• Applies knowledge of software development principles to design and implement functional features.
• Codes and debugs application modules to maintain software performance and reliability.
• Coordinates somewhat complex development activities with cross-functional teams to align with business needs.
• Develops somewhat complex application components, integrating them with existing systems for seamless functionality.
• Implements software updates and patches to improve system performance and security.
• Evaluates software performance metrics and identifies areas for improvement or optimization.
• Recommends enhancements and innovative solutions to improve user experience and system capabilities.
• Build and maintain robust server-side logic, including databases and applications, ensuring high performance, scalability, and security through continuous optimization, updates, and analysis of performance metrics.
• Administer technical tasks, clarify complex requirements, identify edge cases, and design optimal solutions by applying strong software development principles and providing recommendations.
• Write clean, efficient, and reliable code that adheres to company standards, including coding, debugging, and developing complex application components for seamless integration.
• Work effectively with senior engineers, front-end developers, and product managers to understand requirements, coordinate development activities, and deliver robust backend solutions aligned with business needs.
• Actively participate in code reviews to enhance quality, learn from peers, and recommend innovative solutions for improved user experience and system functionality, leveraging AI tools for rapid iteration.

• Familiarity with service-oriented architecture concepts, principles, and patterns.
• Experience designing, building, and maintaining RESTful APIs or working with event-driven queues.
• Solid understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP) design principles.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, or Azure) and familiarity with services like EC2, S3, Lambda, API Gateway, and Apache Kafka
• Experience with database technologies and a strong understanding of database schema design
• Exposure to automated CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions).
• Basic troubleshooting experience with observability tools like Datadog or similar.
• Experience with event-driven architectures
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience using AI-assisted development tools responsibly (e.g., Copilot, Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude) to speed delivery while validating correctness, security, and maintainability.
• Experience with additional programming languages such as Python or Golang.
• Familiarity with Spec Driven Development and the use of agentic AI to produce high quality code
• Familiarity with a Frontend JavaScript Framework, like React, Vue.js, or Angular.

• B.S. in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience required
• 2-4 years relevant work experience required
• 2+ years of production-level application development experience using Java/J2EE, ideally with frameworks like Quarkus or Spring.
• 1+ years of production-level application development experience using Node.js.