Backend - Lead Engineer (Next Generation Financial Systems Business)

Job Overview

1. Background

We aim to build the infrastructure for the on-chain finance era by bringing AI-native, programmable payment and treasury management infrastructure into real-world use.

By leveraging distributed systems and interoperable verification technologies, we seek to eliminate structural inefficiencies in traditional finance and create a more seamless and productive economy.

We are currently advancing both proof-of-concept initiatives and real-world implementations centered on use cases such as tokenized deposits and stablecoin-enabled financial services, addressing regulatory, technological, and operational requirements in parallel.

In line with global trends such as Finternet and the Unified Ledger, we are building infrastructure that connects real-world business operations with on-chain systems.

To accelerate this initiative, we are looking for a Lead Backend Engineer who can design and implement highly available, scalable, and secure backend systems based on cloud-native architecture principles.

We are seeking someone who can help shape the next generation of financial infrastructure from both a technical and team leadership perspective.

2. Mission

Your mission will be to build a robust and flexible backend platform that supports next-generation on-chain financial infrastructure, while establishing an environment in which the engineering team can autonomously and continuously deliver high-quality software.

You will define technical strategies and architectural principles, lead the development of an engineering foundation that balances speed and quality, and help foster an engineering culture that can structure ambiguous requirements and identify optimal solutions even in highly uncertain domains.

3. Key Responsibilities

As a technical leader for the backend systems at the core of our next-generation financial systems business, you will lead technical decision-making, development execution, and the strengthening of our in-house engineering capabilities.

• Architecture Design and Technical Strategy

  Lead the design, development, and operation of backend systems for next-generation financial services. Define technical strategies and architectural principles that ensure long-term scalability, maintainability, and security.

• Optimization of the Development Platform

  Lead the design and implementation of cloud-native architecture, including containers and serverless technologies, as well as CI/CD pipelines, observability, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC), in order to achieve both development speed and quality.

• Hands-on Technical Leadership in Product Development

  Solve complex engineering challenges and ensure high-quality implementation, including type-safe development using languages such as TypeScript, highly available API design, and database schema design and optimization.

• Requirements Definition and Stakeholder Alignment

  Collaborate with product managers and engineers across different domains to clarify ambiguous requirements and specifications from a technical perspective, particularly in areas with a high degree of uncertainty, and drive alignment among stakeholders.

• Enabling Autonomous Engineering Teams

  Create an environment in which team members can independently and proactively move development forward by maintaining documentation, facilitating technical discussions, and supporting sound technical decision-making.

Scope of duties may be changed according to the company's business requirements.

4. Challenges We Aim to Solve

We aim to eliminate the inefficiencies and fragmentation that still exist throughout the financial industry.

Today, financial institutions and corporations manage transactions across separate ledgers and systems. This creates inconsistencies in information, redundant reconciliation processes, and significant manual verification work, all of which reduce productivity.

By leveraging distributed technologies such as blockchain and interoperable verification mechanisms, we are building systems that enable multiple parties to share trusted data in real time and eliminate these structural inefficiencies.

We are also developing the regulatory, technological, and operational foundations required to support next-generation digital money infrastructure, including tokenized deposits and stablecoins, with the goal of seamlessly connecting real-world economic activity to on-chain environments.

Ultimately, we envision a world in which finance becomes more open and programmable, naturally embedded into a wide range of industries and services, creating a more seamless and productive economy.

5. Why This Role Is Exciting

This position offers a rare opportunity to contribute to both 0→1 product creation and 1→100 scaling, combining deep technical ownership with meaningful business impact.

• Build a New Business as a Core Technical Member

  Join the business from its early stages as a core technical member and help build next-generation financial infrastructure designed for global expansion. We are currently in a rapid growth phase, particularly across our engineering organization.

• Make High-Impact Technical Decisions

  As the backend is at the core of the product, you will lead important technical decisions that directly affect scalability, maintainability, and security. You will also be responsible for establishing long-term technical strategies and architectural principles.

• Work on Cutting-Edge Technologies and Complex Engineering Challenges

  Gain exposure to cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and contribute technically to major changes in financial systems. You will have the opportunity to tackle complex problems by structuring ambiguous requirements and unexplored domains from a technical perspective and translating solutions into implementation.

• Build an Environment for Autonomous Development

  Through initiatives such as CI/CD pipeline development and documentation improvement, you will help establish an environment in which engineers can work autonomously, support the growth of individual members, and raise the technical capabilities of the entire team.

6. Services You Will Work On

You will participate in the launch and development of new services supporting on-chain financial infrastructure, including:

• Tokenized deposits
• Smart contract-based payments
• Other next-generation on-chain financial services

7. Technology Stack / Development Environment

Frontend

TypeScript / Vite / Biome / ESLint / Vitest / Storybook / MSW / Sentry, etc.

Backend

Go

Infrastructure

AWS (CDK / Lambda / Aurora / Kinesis, etc.)

8. Team Structure

You will work as part of a cross-functional product development team consisting of product managers, business planners, tech leads, frontend engineers, backend engineers, blockchain engineers, and other specialists.

9. About Datachain

Since its founding in 2018, Datachain has continued to invest in R&D as a Japan-born global deep-tech company, with the goal of creating infrastructure that becomes the de facto standard.

As we move toward a future in which real-world assets, including equities, bonds, and real estate, are increasingly represented as digital assets, we are strengthening the development of next-generation financial infrastructure.

This position is being created to further strengthen the backend engineering capabilities at the core of this initiative.

Required Qualifications

Candidates must have all of the following experience and capabilities as an engineer.

Technical Leadership

• Experience serving in a Lead Engineer or equivalent role within a project or engineering team
• Ability to accurately articulate and structure technical challenges and requirements and propose appropriate solutions
• Strong contextual understanding and summarization skills, with the ability to facilitate technical discussions and reviews effectively
• Strong technical writing skills, including the ability to systematically design and produce development documentation and specifications

Application Development

• Experience developing software with a strong awareness of type safety
• Experience designing server-side architecture and APIs
• Experience designing and implementing automated testing to support application development
• Solid understanding of frontend development

Infrastructure / Cloud-Native Architecture

• Experience designing and building cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• Experience using managed services on AWS, GCP, or Azure
• Experience designing cloud-native architectures centered around containers and/or serverless technologies
• Experience designing and operating systems in accordance with security best practices

Databases

• Experience designing and optimizing database schemas across relational databases, NoSQL, and/or NewSQL technologies
• Experience planning and executing performance tuning and large-scale data migrations

Language

• Business-level Japanese proficiency equivalent to JLPT N1

Preferred Qualifications

Development Environment / Technology Stack

• Development experience using languages such as TypeScript, Go, or Rust
• Experience building cloud infrastructure using IaC tools such as Terraform, AWS CDK, or Pulumi
• Experience working with AWS managed services

Domain / Specialized Experience

• Experience developing or operating systems in the financial industry
• Experience developing products using blockchain technologies
• Knowledge of large-scale data architecture, operations, and analytics, including data science-related domains
• Experience establishing or operating PSIRT / CSIRT functions, designing and implementing SIEM systems, or building logging infrastructure

Management / Organizational Contribution

• Experience in product management or engineering management
• Experience collaborating with or leading initiatives involving design and/or marketing teams

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Able to make optimal technical decisions based on business objectives, even when business conditions and requirements are changing
• Able not only to contribute hands-on, but also to create an environment in which team members can proactively drive development, grow their capabilities, and engage in productive technical discussions
• Able to improve the technical capabilities of the entire engineering team through architectural principles, review practices, documentation, and other scalable mechanisms
• Able to identify fundamental issues beyond the boundaries of individual systems or technical domains, and proactively lead the planning and execution of solutions required for product success