At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead backend engineering for a massive gaming platform, shaping technical decisions and building scalable services.
- Company: Join Nexus Mods, the largest video game modding platform with a vibrant community.
- Benefits: Enjoy a 4-day work week, gaming allowance, private healthcare, and flexible training budgets.
- Other info: Diverse and inclusive culture with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the gaming world while working on unique challenges at scale.
- Qualifications: Extensive backend experience, strong system design skills, and proficiency in backend languages.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 90000 £ per year.
Role Description
Salary
£80,000 - £90,000
Location
UK or Europe
Please note
We are unable to sponsor international visas at this time.
About Nexus Mods
Established in 2001, Nexus Mods is the largest video game modding platform on the internet - a household name in the PC gaming ecosystem.
- 77M+ registered members
- 24B+ mod downloads
We’re currently focused on product modernisation, driving growth and building infrastructure for the next 10 years of community-powered modding.
Our Role
We’re looking for Principal Backend Engineer to join our Backend Engineering team.
You will act as the technical lead within a cross functional pod building Nexus Mods’ core services.
This is a hands-on role focused on shaping technical decisions, guiding the pod’s engineering work, supporting the team technically, and ensuring delivery is robust, scalable, and aligned with our technical direction.
This is a chance to work on challenges most companies never encounter
- Massive scale serving millions of users and requests.
- Complex mod compatibility, dependencies, and versioning.
- A deeply engaged and passionate global modding community.
From discovery and experimentation to delivery and scale, you’ll play a key role in shaping systems that:
- Help millions of gamers discover, download, and manage mods effortlessly.
- Empower creators to publish and manage their work with confidence.
- Power high traffic APIs and distributed systems at scale.
- Support both web and desktop applications.
- Enable rapid experimentation and iteration on new features.
- Ensure the platform evolves to support the next decade of growth.
- Role Responsibilities
- Own technical direction within your pod (architecture, design, tooling, trade-offs).
- Build and scale backend services and APIs serving millions of users.
- Ensure systems are performant, reliable, and maintainable.
- Align pod decisions with wider platform architecture.
- Support and unblock engineers to help teammates work efficiently.
- Collaborate closely with Product, Design, and other disciplines.
- Drive engineering standards across code quality, testing, and delivery.
- Contribute to discovery, prototyping, and iterative delivery.
- Identify and tackle technical debt and scalability challenges.
- Role Requirements
- Extensive backend engineering experience, ideally with gaming or tech.
- Deep experience with at least one backend language (Ruby, PHP, Java, Go, Node. js, etc.)
- Strong system design and architecture skills.
- Experience building and scaling APIs (REST and/or Graph QL).
- Solid understanding of distributed systems and event driven architectures.
- Experience with relational databases (Postgres/My SQL) and No SQL (Redis/Elastic Seach).
- Experience with CI/CD, Docker, and Kubernetes.
- Strong communication skills and ability to lead through influence.
- Comfortable balancing speed, quality, and pragmatism.
- Bonus Skills
- Experience with authentication, payments, or search systems.
- Background in high scale platforms or UGC.
- Understanding of gaming ecosystems (e. g. multiplayer services, content distribution, or digital marketplaces).
- Experience building tools for creators, modding communities, or user-generated content platforms.
- Passion for gaming, modding, or creator ecosystems.
Benefits of Working at Nexus Mods
- We work a 4-day week of 32 hours, with no reduction in pay.
- An allowance of £25 each month to spend on video games.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Private BUPA healthcare for you and your family.
- A very flexible training budget.
- Regular social events throughout the year. Participation is optional!
- Diversity and Inclusion
We celebrate diversity and want you to bring your whole self to work.
Supporting an incredible community of tens of millions of users, we thrive on engaging as many views as possible to improve our platform.
We see no reason why our culture should be any different.
- Salary
- #J-18808-Ljbffr
Principal Backend Engineer in Exeter employer: Nexus Mods
Nexus Mods is an exceptional employer, offering a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of the gaming industry while enjoying a flexible 4-day work week with no pay reduction. With a strong focus on employee growth, a generous training budget, and a vibrant work culture that celebrates diversity, you'll be part of a passionate team dedicated to empowering millions of gamers and creators worldwide.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Backend Engineer in Exeter
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Nexus Mods or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Nexus Mods.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Nexus Mods.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Nexus Mods that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Backend Engineer in Exeter
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Nexus Mods.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Nexus Mods and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Nexus Mods
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Nexus Mods uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
