vrchat - Senior / Staff Backend Engineer (API) – Economy
Requirements
• 5+ years of experience in backend engineering for SaaS, fintech, marketplaces, or online platforms • Deep proficiency in Node.js and TypeScript • Strong experience with relational and non-relational databases (MySQL, MongoDB, Redis) • Experience managing message queues, caching strategies, and WebSocket systems • Proven experience building and maintaining external integrations (payment vendors, fintech platforms) • Strong understanding of profiling, optimization tradeoffs, and observability • Experience operating under PCI DSS, GDPR, and PII requirements • Experience building subscription engines, marketplaces, accounting systems, or invoicing workflows • Familiarity with AWS, Docker, CI/CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code • Comfortable navigating ambiguity across experimental and high-certainty requirements • Experience working in complex, evolving codebases • Experience with event-driven or high-throughput transactional systems • Experience integrating with Steam, Oculus, Apple, or Google Play payment systems • Experience leading large-scale refactors or architectural migrations • Experience building internal operational tooling or creator-facing systems • Active participation in creator economies or VRChat itself • ## Team Fit & Mindset • Independent and proactive self-starter • Low ego, high ownership, and collaborative • Growth-oriented and adaptable • Empathetic toward creators and end users • Calm and clear-headed during high-traffic events or critical incidents
Responsibilities
• Design and implement scalable backend services in Node.js and TypeScript • Ensure transactional integrity in high-volume economic systems • Model digital ownership, entitlements, wallets, and payouts • Build and evolve systems supporting both first-party and creator-driven content • Drive refactors that improve maintainability and long-term platform evolution • Participate in architectural discussions shaping the future of VRChat’s economy stack • Design reliable economic event representations • Ensure traceability across payment transactions and reporting systems • Enable subscription and marketplace analytics • Support experimentation and feature iteration • Maintain reconciliation accuracy and reporting integrity • Contribute to fraud detection and prevention systems • Own services from development through deployment and monitoring • Improve CI/CD reliability and release safety • Work within containerized environments (Docker) • Contribute to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) • Strengthen observability, monitoring, and incident response practices • Occasionally jump in to resolve critical production issues • ## Senior-Level Expectations • Design and implement scalable backend services • Own systems end-to-end through production • Improve performance, observability, and operational resilience • Partner cross-functionally with Product, Design, Data, Finance, Trust & Safety, Infrastructure, and peer engineering teams • Lead architectural initiatives across the economy stack • Shape long-term technical direction • Identify systemic risks and drive preventative improvements • Mentor engineers and elevate engineering standards • Influence and inform cross-team design decisions • ## Staff-Level Expectations (In Addition) • Bring credible experience designing and operating financial or high-integrity transactional systems at scale • Architect cross-team economic platform primitives (e.g., entitlement models, payment flows, reconciliation frameworks, event contracts) • Define long-term technical strategy for the economy stack, balancing scalability, compliance, and product velocity • Lead strategic architecture initiatives spanning multiple services or teams, and high stake external partners and integrations • Mentor senior engineers and influence technical direction across the organization • Influence cross-team design decisions at platform scale
Benefits
• Work from anywhere — VRChat is a 100% remote company • Flexible working hours with core collaboration overlap • 401(k) for US employees & Group RRSP for Canadian employees • Stock options • Generous paid holiday schedule • Unlimited/flexible vacation time • Paid parental leave
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