Backend Engineer

About The Company

Nexus Mods, established in 2001, has grown to become the largest and most influential video game modding platform on the internet. With over 78 million registered members, the platform hosts more than 900,000 mods spanning over 5,000 games and has facilitated over 25 billion downloads. Renowned within the PC gaming community, Nexus Mods is dedicated to fostering a vibrant, community-driven ecosystem that empowers gamers and creators alike. The company is currently focused on modernising its products, driving sustainable growth, and building robust infrastructure to support the next decade of community-powered modding. As a pioneer in the industry, Nexus Mods continues to innovate and expand its reach, ensuring a safe, engaging, and seamless experience for millions of users worldwide.

About The Role

We are seeking two highly skilled Senior Backend Engineers to join our dynamic engineering team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and scaling the core APIs and systems that underpin the Nexus Mods ecosystem. You will work on complex challenges related to managing massive scale, ensuring compatibility across diverse platforms, and supporting passionate user communities. Your efforts will directly impact the platform’s ability to serve millions of gamers and creators, enabling them to discover, share, and manage mods effortlessly. From initial discovery and experimentation to delivery and scaling, you will be hands‑on in shaping features that enhance user experience, improve platform security, and foster community growth. The scope of your work may evolve over time, covering areas such as community safety, platform security, compliance, monetisation, and core infrastructure improvements. This role offers a unique opportunity to work on high-traffic systems, tackle complex technical challenges, and contribute to a thriving global community of gamers and modders.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with backend development, demonstrating proficiency in at least one backend language such as Ruby, PHP, Java, Go, or Node.js, coupled with a strong curiosity to learn additional technologies. Proven experience in designing and building REST and/or GraphQL APIs is essential. Candidates should possess solid knowledge of relational databases like Postgres or MySQL, along with familiarity with NoSQL stores such as Redis or Elasticsearch. Experience working with distributed systems, queues, event‑driven architectures, and performance optimisation is highly desirable. Hands‑on experience deploying services using CI/CD pipelines, containers (Docker/Kubernetes), and cloud infrastructure is required. Excellent communication skills, combined with the ability to balance speed, quality, and pragmatism, are critical. Bonus skills include familiarity with Ruby on Rails, knowledge of authentication and identity management, payments, search systems, and experience working within trust and safety or compliance‑driven environments. A passion for gaming, modding communities, or user-generated content platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will own critical backend domains, designing, building, and maintaining scalable and secure services and APIs that support millions of users worldwide. Your responsibilities include translating complex product requirements into clear technical plans and leading the delivery of multi‑sprint initiatives. Collaboration with cross‑functional teams is essential to ensure seamless end‑to‑end feature development. You will contribute to product discovery by prototyping, validating feasibility, and surfacing trade‑offs early in the development process. Improving system observability, reliability, and operational standards will be a core focus, alongside driving best practices in performance tuning, database design, and security. Writing clean, well‑tested code, maintaining high standards across CI/CD pipelines, and mentoring junior engineers are integral parts of your role. Additionally, you will be involved in addressing technical debt, optimizing system performance, and ensuring platform stability to support future growth and innovation.

Benefits

At Nexus Mods, we believe in supporting our employees both professionally and personally.

• We offer a four‑day workweek of 32 hours with no reduction in pay, promoting a healthy work-life balance.
• Employees receive a monthly allowance of £25 to spend on video games, fostering personal interests and hobbies.
• Private BUPA healthcare coverage for you and your family.
• An Employee Assistance Programme.
• A flexible training budget to support continuous learning and development.
• Regular social events throughout the year, which are optional but encourage team bonding and community engagement.

Our workplace culture champions diversity and inclusion, welcoming individuals from all backgrounds to bring their whole selves to work and contribute to our vibrant community.

Equal Opportunity

Nexus Mods is committed to creating an inclusive environment where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and fairness. We celebrate diversity and are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We believe that a diverse workforce enhances our creativity, innovation, and overall success. Our policies promote a culture of inclusion, ensuring that every team member feels valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.