ROMEO is one of the largest dating and social platforms for gay, bi and trans people, used by millions worldwide, including in places where our users cannot be open. That responsibility shapes how we build.

Build and maintain backend services that power features for millions of users.
Work across our two main stacks: a PHP API and Node.js microservices.
Design and evolve database structures, and care about how queries behave at scale.
Write tested code and review your teammates' code.
Handle user data with the care it deserves. A lot of what we store is sensitive, and protecting it is part of every task.
Debug real production issues and help make the system more reliable over time.

Around 2-4 years building backend applications you can talk about in depth.
Solid grounding in at least one object-oriented language. PHP or Node.js is a plus, but strong fundamentals plus a real willingness to learn our stack matter more.
Comfortable with relational databases and SQL: you can write a non-trivial query and reason about why one is slow.
You write tests and you value them.
Good English for daily written and spoken work. We work in English, so no German is needed.

Experience with high-traffic or high-availability systems.
Familiarity with message queues / infra, (e.g. AMQP, Kubernetes).

Hybrid working (2–3 days per week in our Berlin office)
€40 employer contribution towards the Germany Job Ticket
EGYM Wellpass (only €20/month employee contribution)
In-house German classes
Annual learning budget (e.g. for conferences, courses, certifications)
Modern office in central Berlin
International team, English-speaking environment

Eligibility:

Open to candidates who already have the legal right to work in Germany.
Visa sponsorship is not available for this postion.

Backend Developer (mid-level), PHP / Node.js