Senior Backend Engineer

Shipping companies operate on systems that weren't designed to talk to each other: ERPs that only speak SOAP, supplier portals that require UI automation, forwarder platforms with inconsistent data formats, vessel systems with limited connectivity. You'll build the backend infrastructure that makes these systems work together, the integration layer, data synchronization engine, and workflow orchestration platform that powers Narwhal's AI agents.

What You'll Do

• Design and build integration infrastructure: connectors for ERPs (BASSnet, ShipNet, MariApps), supplier systems, forwarder platforms, and vessel management software


• Develop the data synchronization engine that keeps information consistent across disconnected systems in real-time


• Build workflow orchestration systems that coordinate AI agents across procurement, logistics, and inventory management


• Implement robust error handling, retry logic, and monitoring for integrations operating in unreliable network conditions (vessels at sea, port connections)


• Design database schemas and data models for our vessel-centric data layer


• Build APIs that expose Narwhal's capabilities to frontend applications and customer systems


• Ensure enterprise-grade security, data isolation, and compliance for multi-tenant deployments


• Instrument systems for observability: logging, metrics, alerting, and debugging tools

Who You Are

• 5+ years backend engineering experience


• Strong system design skills: you think about scalability, reliability, and maintainability


• Deep experience with APIs: REST, GraphQL, webhooks, authentication, rate limiting


• Solid understanding of databases: SQL, schema design, query optimization, data modeling


• Experience building integrations with third-party systems, especially legacy enterprise software


• Comfortable with RPA frameworks or UI automation for systems without APIs


• Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills, you find root causes in complex distributed systems


• Pragmatic about technology choices: you pick the right tool for the job, not the trendy one


• Comfortable working directly with operators and technical teams during deployments, you'll debug issues on-site and explain technical decisions in operational terms

Nice to Have

• Experience in supply chain, logistics, or industrial operations software


• Background in enterprise integration platforms, ETL systems, or middleware


• Familiarity with message queues, event-driven architectures, and async processing


• Understanding of maritime operations or freight forwarding workflows

Why Join Narwhal

• Core infrastructure role with ownership over critical systems


• Solve hard integration problems that most companies consider impossible


• Build for real-world conditions: unreliable networks, legacy systems, high-stakes operations


• Work directly with customers, see your systems in production, debug real issues, understand impact


• Equity stake in a company connecting a trillion-dollar industry


• What excites you about building for maritime operations


• A hard problem you've solved that's relevant to this role


• Why you want to join at this stage

We'll respond within 48 hours.