Locus The Software Factory
Software Development Engineer 3 (Backend)
Who We Are :
We're Locus. We move the world's goods.
Our algorithms have optimized over 1 billion deliveries. We're the enterprise TMS trusted by IKEA, Unilever, UPS and some of the largest supply chains on the planet. Backed by Ingka Group (IKEA's parent), we're building a composable, multi-modal transportation management system that's redefining logistics technology.
We're not hiring to fill seats. We're hiring builders who build for other builders.
What You'll Do :
You own the backend end to end. Design doc to deployment. Production to on-call. Here's what that looks like day to day :
- Architect and ship backend systems that run in production at enterprise scale.
- Build fault-tolerant services with clear SLIs/SLOs, strong observability, and predictable performance.
- Drive design and implementation for microservices and distributed workflows messaging, async processing, retries, idempotency.
- Work closely with a team both Biological and Digital comprising Product, Frontend, QA/SDET, DevOps/SRE, and Data teams to turn business requirements into robust systems.
- Raise engineering standards through design reviews, code reviews, and operational best practices.
- Mentor junior engineers and lead by example on craft, ownership, and execution.
What You Bring :
Must-Haves :
- 5+ years building production backend systems SaaS or product environments preferred.
- Strong fundamentals in distributed systems, concurrency, reliability, and scalability.
- Deep experience with Java, Spring / Spring Boot preferred.
- Proven track record designing and building REST APIs and microservices.
- Working knowledge across the stack : relational + NoSQL databases, messaging (Kafka/RabbitMQ), caching (Redis/Memcached).
- Strong debugging instincts, you resolve complex production issues with clarity and ownership.
- Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) and modern practices : CI/CD, automated testing, observability.
- Track record of shipping and coding and not just planning.
Strong Signals - We Actively Look for These :
Degrees don't tell us much. These do :
- You've built something on your own time, open source, side project, internal tool.
- You've contributed to a top open-source project.
- You've filed a patent or published research.
- You've written technical content others reference, or spoken at a conference.
- You've competed in or completed something grueling, ultra-marathon, Ironman, competitive programming, hackathon wins.
We don't fill seats. We hire builders who build for other builders.
What We Don't Care About :
- Which college you went to. Seriously.
- Whether your resume has Big Tech logos.
- How many years you've held exactly this job title.
We care about what you built, why you couldn't stop, and how you think.
The Stack :
- Languages : Java, Kotlin, Python, TypeScript, Spring / Spring Boot
- Infrastructure : AWS, Kubernetes, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch
- Data / ML : Spark, Airflow, optimization engines (routing, ETA, slotting)
- Scale : 350+ deployments, 30+ countries, billions of deliveries, high-volume daily computations
Why Locus is different :
This isn't a perks list. It's a contract between Locus and people who build.
01.
Inference Compute
Budget - For Builders Who Ship :
- Every engineer gets $5,000/year in AI/LLM inference credits. The budget is the baseline, you need more we have it for you!
02.
Patent
Premium - Your Name on It.
Permanently :
- File a patent at Locus, your name stays on it for Eternity. Check our Patents and patents holders.
03.
Lifetime Royalty
Program - Build the Builders :
- Build an internal tool that automates a process or makes us more efficient? Locus pays you a royalty, not just while you're here, but even after you leave.
04.
Excellence Beyond
Code :
- Ironman, ultra-marathon, national-level sport, FIDE 2000+, we see these as signals of craft, grit, and finishing. They matter to us.
05.
Open Source
Bounty :
- Active contributor to a top-1000 GitHub repo? Joining bonus. Active maintainers get dedicated 20% time to keep contributing.
06.
Conference Speaker
Fund :
- Accepted to speak at a global conference? We cover travel, registration, and stay. No questions asked.
07. 1 Billion Deliveries on Your Resume :
- You can truthfully say : "My code optimized 1B+ deliveries across 30+ countries." We verify it.
08.
Alumni Network That
Doesn't Forget You :
Leaving Locus? You still get a reduced compute budget ($1K/yr), alumni summit access, referral bonuses, and a rapid-track to re-hire.
Apply :
Send us
- Your GitHub / portfolio / anything you've built - required. More important than your resume.
- A one-liner on why Locus interests you.
"We don't hire the best people and tell them what to build. We hire builders and get out of their way." - Locus Engineering
📌 Locus - Software Development Engineer III - Backend Architecture (India)
🏢 Locus
📍 India