Senior Backend Engineer

About the Role

NovaLexi is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to join its team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role involves designing and building secure, multi-tenant backend services and APIs for large-scale organizations, adhering to enterprise and regulator-grade standards. The position requires 5-10 years of experience in backend development, with a focus on modern AI-assisted workflows to maintain speed and quality.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build backend services and the platform's GraphQL API.
• Model complex IP-lifecycle domains, including patents, trademarks, renewals, and multi-jurisdiction rules.
• Implement multi-tenant data isolation and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
• Manage integrations with external systems such as ERP, CRM, and PTO APIs.
• Ensure performance, reliability, and security (SSO/MFA, encryption, secure SDLC) in alignment with NCA controls and PDPL.
• Utilize AI-assisted development tools (*, Claude Code) for rapid deployment and establish AI guardrails, including review gates, automated tests, and security checks.
• Translate the demands of large-scale, multi-stakeholder programs—considering operational scale, non-functional requirements (availability, performance, security), integration surface, and client delivery expectations—into sound backend decisions.
• Set engineering standards, conduct code reviews, and mentor other engineers.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• 8+ years of experience building production backend systems, with a proven track record of delivery for large-scale organizations, including enterprise or government platforms, high data volumes, and significant integrations.
• Ability to understand and navigate the complexities of large-scale enterprise and government projects, including operational scale, technical and regulatory requirements, multiple stakeholders, and overall project expectations.
• Deep experience with a modern backend framework, with Ruby on Rails strongly preferred.
• Expertise with AI coding tools such as Claude Code for rapid development, coupled with experience in building AI guardrails to ensure correctness and security.
• Expertise in relational database design (PostgreSQL) and background processing (*, Sidekiq).
• Proven experience in GraphQL API design (schema, resolvers, performance, with graphql-ruby preferred) and secure authentication flows (SSO, MFA).
• Track record of delivering enterprise-grade, multi-tenant SaaS at scale, and comfortable with associated complexities.
• Experience working in a fast-paced startup environment, demonstrating self-managed time, adaptability to changing priorities, task completion, and delivery on short timelines.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience in government or regulated environments.
• Familiarity with Google Cloud (Cloud Run, me-central2).
• Domain exposure to IP or legal technology.
• Bilingual proficiency in Arabic and English.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focusing on developing backend solutions for large-scale enterprise and government clients within a dynamic and evolving technological landscape.