Principal/Lead Backend Engineer

Job Description This is a remote position. THIS IS A FULLY REMOTE POSITION - CANDIDATE MUST BE LOCATED IN THE U.S. (Visa sponsorship NOT available). This position will lead the backend development of our client, their AI-powered retention engine that connects OEM and dealer data to automate pricing, outreach, and service recommendations. This role focuses on data architecture, API integrations, and automation infrastructure that unify multiple systems (DMS, CRM, OEM, and market data) into a single decision and action layer. Key Responsibilities Build and manage scalable APIs to ingest and normalize data from: Dealer DMS/CRM, OEM/group feeds, and market pricing sources. Design and maintain secure data pipelines aligned with planned SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance. Implement role-based access and encryption (TLS 1.2+, AES-256, key rotation). Develop the Authorization/Integration Layer (APIs/Webhooks) that supports read-only and read/write execution models. Maintain Command’s continuous-learning feedback loop — pushing actions, retrieving results, and ensuring synchronization between dealer and Command systems. Collaborate with AI/ML engineer to expose clean, query-ready data for modeling and decision automation. Optimize backend performance for multi-rooftop scaling (300+ dealers). Requirements Expert in Python, Node.js, or Go backend development. Strong experience with ETL/data-pipeline frameworks (Airflow, dbt, etc.). Proficiency with PostgreSQL/MongoDB and REST/GraphQL API design. Familiarity with AWS or GCP cloud deployment, containerization, and CI/CD. Experience integrating with automotive DMS/CRM APIs (CDK, Reynolds, DealerSocket) is a major plus. Understanding of data security, authentication (OAuth2/SSO), and compliance principles.