Senior Software Engineer II – Backend Engineering, Real-Time Chat & Messaging Platform

Join arenaflex as a Senior Software Engineer II – Backend, Live Chat

Are you ready to shape the future of real-time customer communication? At arenaflex, we're building a world-class Live Chat platform that powers millions of conversations between businesses and their customers every single day. We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer II to join our Backend Engineering team and help us create exceptional chat experiences that transform how companies connect with their audiences.

About the Live Chat Engineering Team

The Live Chat team at arenaflex is responsible for one of our most critical and high-traffic products—a sophisticated real-time messaging platform that empowers support teams to assist customers instantly and effortlessly. This is a highly scaled system handling millions of messages daily, requiring exceptional performance, rock-solid reliability, and continuous innovation.

We're not just building chat functionality; we're creating a holistic customer engagement service that extends far beyond simple messaging. Our vision is to develop a comprehensive platform that supports businesses in building lasting relationships with their customers through seamless, intelligent communication channels.

Our technical stack reflects our commitment to performance and scalability. We primarily develop microservices using Java 11, leveraging the Dropwizard framework for our RESTful APIs. For processing the massive volumes of data flowing through our system, we rely on Apache Kafka to ensure efficient, reliable message handling and data pipeline management. If you're passionate about working with modern, performant technologies that can handle scale, you'll feel right at home on our team.

What You'll Do

As a Senior Software Engineer II on our Live Chat backend team, you'll be instrumental in designing, building, and maintaining the systems that power real-time customer communications. Your work will directly impact millions of users who rely on our platform every day to resolve issues, get answers, and have meaningful conversations with the businesses they trust.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and Develop Backend Services: Create robust, scalable microservices that handle real-time messaging, presence detection, notification delivery, and cross-platform synchronization using Java 11 and the Dropwizard framework.


• Build Scalable Data Pipelines: Architect and implement data processing systems using Kafka to handle millions of messages daily while maintaining low latency and high throughput.


• Optimize Performance: Analyze system performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement solutions that balance performance, cost, and complexity considerations for large-scale data systems.


• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Work closely with product managers, designers, and frontend engineers to deliver features that delight customers and meet business objectives.


• Lead Technical Initiatives: Take ownership of significant technical projects, driving architectural decisions and influencing the technical direction of the team and broader organization.


• Mentor and Coach: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence.


• Embrace AI Innovation: Contribute to the development of AI-powered features that enhance our chat platform, including intelligent routing, automated responses, and predictive customer service capabilities.

What We're Looking For

Essential Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of professional experience building and maintaining backend systems, with preference for candidates who have worked on analytics, data infrastructure, or reporting products.


• Technical Expertise: Strong experience with distributed systems, service-oriented architecture, and building scalable data pipelines or APIs using Java, Kotlin, or similar modern programming languages.


• System Design Skills: Deep understanding of trade-offs when working with large-scale data systems, including considerations around performance optimization, cost efficiency, and architectural complexity.


• Collaboration Mindset: Proven ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and a product-focused approach to engineering decisions.


• Initiative and Problem-Solving: A track record of taking ownership, solving complex problems, and advocating for clean, maintainable, well-tested code.


• Leadership Potential: Experience mentoring peers and influencing technical direction, with the ability to lead small teams on critical initiatives.


• AI Enthusiasm: Experience with or strong interest in AI technologies and building AI-powered products.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with real-time messaging systems or WebSocket-based communication platforms.


• Familiarity with event-driven architectures and CQRS patterns.


• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.


• Experience with monitoring, observability, and distributed tracing systems.


• Background in building products that serve customer support, sales, or marketing teams.

Skills and Competencies for Success

At arenaflex, we value engineers who bring both technical excellence and collaborative spirit to our team. The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Technical Depth: Strong fundamentals in computer science, data structures, algorithms, and system design principles.


• Communication Skills: Ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.


• Ownership Mentality: A proactive approach to identifying problems and driving solutions without requiring extensive direction.


• Adaptability: Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where requirements and priorities may evolve.


• Quality Focus: Commitment to writing maintainable, testable code and participating in thorough code reviews.


• Diversity and Inclusion Champion: Understanding of the value that diverse teams bring and commitment to building an inclusive environment.

Career Growth and Learning Opportunities

At arenaflex, your career development is our priority. As a Senior Software Engineer II, you'll have access to numerous opportunities for professional growth:

• Technical Leadership Paths: Progress into Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, or Distinguished Engineer roles where you'll influence company-wide technical strategy.


• Management Track: If you're interested in leading teams, we offer engineering management opportunities where you can develop and grow other engineers.


• Skill Development: Access to comprehensive learning resources, including conferences, workshops, online courses, and internal technical talks.


• Rotation Programs: Opportunities to work on different teams and projects, broadening your experience across our product portfolio.


• AI/ML Exposure: First-hand experience building AI-powered products in a company that's investing heavily in artificial intelligence capabilities.


• Mentorship Opportunities: Both receive mentorship from senior leaders and mentor newer team members, strengthening your own expertise while giving back.

Work Environment and Culture

Arenaflex is more than a workplace—it's a community of builders, dreamers, and doers who are passionate about transforming how businesses connect with their customers. Our culture is built on five core commitments that guide everything we do:

• Solve for the Customer: Every decision we make starts with the question: "How does this benefit our customers?"


• Be Bold: We take risks, dream big, and aren't afraid to challenge the status quo.


• Learn Fast: We embrace experimentation, iterate quickly, and learn from both successes and failures.


• Align, Adapt & Go!: We stay aligned on our goals while remaining flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances.


• Deliver with HEART: We approach our work with Heart, Empathy, Ambition, Respect, and Transparency.

We believe in flexibility without isolation. As a remote-friendly company, we give you the freedom to work where you're most productive. However, we also value the power of in-person connection. Engineering team members are invited to attend regional gatherings for onboarding and team events, ensuring you build genuine relationships with your colleagues while still enjoying the benefits of remote work.

Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging is unwavering. We know that the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, and we're actively working to create a workplace where every person feels they belong. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply and join us in building a more inclusive tech industry.

Compensation and Benefits

We believe in transparent, competitive compensation that reflects your skills, experience, and the impact you'll make at arenaflex.

Cash Compensation

Annual Salary Range: $191,100 – $305,800 USD

This range represents the base salary for this role, along with eligibility for annual performance bonuses. Individual compensation packages are tailored to your unique background and qualifications.

Equity Participation

Eligible employees also participate in arenaflex's equity plan, receiving Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that allow you to share in the company's success as we grow together.

Comprehensive Benefits

Your total compensation goes beyond base salary. Our benefits package includes:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support and wellness programs.


• Time Off: Generous paid time off, including vacation, personal days, and parental leave.


• Retirement: 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching.


• Professional Development: Learning and development budget for courses, conferences, and certifications.


• Home Office: Stipend for setting up a productive home office environment.


• Work-Life Balance: Flexible work schedules and support for maintaining balance between professional and personal life.

Ready to Make an Impact?

If you're excited about building products that millions of people use every day, working with cutting-edge technologies, and solving challenging problems alongside a talented team, we want to hear from you.

We know that the confidence gap and impostor syndrome can sometimes hold exceptional candidates back from applying. Please don't let these feelings stop you—we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every single qualification. We believe in hiring for potential, not just perfect match resumes, and we're committed to supporting candidates throughout the hiring process.

If you need accommodations or assistance due to a disability, please reach out to us. We're committed to ensuring our hiring process is accessible to everyone and will work with you to find alternative arrangements.

Join arenaflex and help us build the future of customer communication.