Backend Team lead

Backend Team Lead – Software Engineering

Location: Cairo, Egypt
Department: Engineering
Reports to: Engineering Manager / Head of Engineering

About Intella

Intella is an AI technology company specializing in Arabic speech and conversational intelligence. We build advanced AI-powered solutions that transform how businesses interact with customers through intelligent voice and language technologies.

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Backend Team Lead with a strong software engineering background to lead our backend development team, drive technical excellence, and oversee the design and development of scalable, reliable, and high-performance backend systems.

The ideal candidate must have extensive hands-on experience in software development, backend architecture, system design, and building production-grade applications. This is a pure software engineering leadership role requiring strong technical expertise and the ability to guide developers, make architectural decisions, and deliver high-quality software solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Backend Engineering & Architecture

• Lead the design, development, and maintenance of scalable backend applications and services.
• Define and maintain backend architecture, coding standards, and engineering best practices.
• Make technical decisions regarding system design, architecture, scalability, and performance.
• Design and develop RESTful APIs and microservices-based architectures.
• Ensure backend systems are secure, reliable, maintainable, and optimized for performance.
• Identify technical bottlenecks and drive continuous improvements in application performance.

Technical Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and support backend software engineers.
• Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to software engineering standards.
• Guide the team in solving complex technical challenges and implementing effective solutions.
• Establish development practices covering code quality, testing, documentation, and deployment readiness.
• Participate in technical discussions, architecture reviews, and engineering planning.
• Take ownership of technical decisions and ensure successful delivery of backend projects.

Software Development & Delivery

• Oversee the full software development lifecycle, from requirements analysis and design to development, testing, and deployment.
• Collaborate closely with Product, Frontend, AI, and DevOps teams.
• Ensure efficient integration between backend services and AI-powered products.
• Monitor application performance and troubleshoot complex production issues.
• Promote automated testing, CI/CD practices, and continuous delivery.

Required Technical Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 9+ years of professional experience in backend software development.
• At least 2+ years of experience leading or mentoring backend development teams.
• Strong proficiency in one or more backend programming languages, preferably Python, Java, Go, or Node.js.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, system design, and design patterns.
• Proven experience designing and developing RESTful APIs and microservices.
• Strong knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, or Redis.
• Experience with distributed systems, asynchronous processing, message queues, and caching mechanisms.
• Strong understanding of software development principles, clean code, SOLID principles, and OOP.
• Experience with automated testing, code quality, and performance optimization.
• Good understanding of cloud-based application development and containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building scalable SaaS products.
• Experience working with AI/ML-powered applications and integrating AI services into backend systems.
• Experience with high-traffic applications and distributed architectures.
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and application performance management.
• Experience working in Agile software development environments.

Key Competencies

• Strong technical leadership and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent software architecture and system design capabilities.
• Ability to make independent technical decisions.
• Strong ownership and accountability.
• Effective communication and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to mentor developers and build a high-performing engineering team.