Pesto Mastercard

Backend / Product Engineer (Elixir-driven) — Remote (EU) | US Startup

Location: Europe (3–6h overlap with US hours)

Type: Full-time, remote (B2B contract)

Stack: Elixir, Phoenix, PostgreSQL, AWS, Oban, GraphQL/REST

About Us

We’re a fast-moving U.S. startup building real products, not slide decks. We operate like an elite, small engineering team: high ownership, high expectations, zero bureaucracy, and extremely high output.

We’re hiring a Backend/Product Engineer who can think, build, and deliver — someone who doesn’t need perfect specs and can create value even when no one assigns tasks.

You will build core systems, integrations, APIs, and internal tools that directly impact customers. This is a role for someone who wants responsibility, challenge, and growth — not a “soft-cushion corporate dev seat.”

What You’ll Do

You will operate as a true Product Engineer, not a ticket monkey:

• Design and implement backend systems, APIs, and services
• Own features end-to-end: idea → architecture → implementation → deploy
• Work closely with founders and product to define problems and solutions
• Improve architecture, observability, and reliability without waiting to be told
• Identify gaps and build tools that save us time or money
• Take responsibility for outcomes, not excuses

We move fast. We expect ownership. We expect results.

Your Background

We care more about your ability to build great systems than whether you’ve used the exact stack before.

Must-Have

• Strong backend engineering experience (any modern language)
• Solid understanding of databases, transactions, APIs, distributed systems
• Ability to work independently and ship high-quality features
• Comfortable with early-stage chaos and ambiguity
• Strong communication skills (clear, concise, proactive)
• A mindset that says: “If it’s broken, I fix it.”
• Comfortable overlapping with US hours

Nice-to-Have (or willingness to learn)

• Elixir, Phoenix, Ecto, Oban
• OTP fundamentals (GenServers, Supervisors)
• Event-driven thinking
• Fintech/payments/ledger experience
• AWS experience
• Typescript
• React native
• Tailwind/css
   

Mindset We Expect

Let’s be upfront:

This is not a role for someone who wants:

• low pressure
• slow pace
• heavy process
• “assignments” waiting for them every morning
• perfect specs
• or a 9-to-5 corporate comfort zone

This is a role for someone who:

• thrives in high-ownership environments
• enjoys solving problems without hand-holding
• does not cop out when things get tough
• treats the product like their own
• wants to build something meaningful and challenging
• understands that early-stage startups require real commitment
• wants to grow into a senior/product/lead role fast

We are building for real customers.

This requires focus, discipline, and hustle.

If you’re not comfortable with that — this isn’t for you.

If you are — you will absolutely love working with us.

Why Join Us

• Work directly with founders (no layers of management)
• Build real product that ships weekly
• Ownership of architecture and systems
• Autonomy + trust (but also expectations)
• Modern, enjoyable stack
• Competitive USD-based compensation
• A place where ambitious engineers grow fast
• Your work actually matters