Ghost
Ghost Agency Back-End Developer / Systems Engineer Remote Contract About Ghost Agency We're growing a trusted, distributed team of contractors who work alongside Ghost's senior creative and technical leads. These are not anonymous production seats. We want people who understand the intent behind the work, communicate clearly, make thoughtful recommendations, and deliver at a level our high-profile clients expect. About The Role We're looking for a back-end developer / systems engineer who can own the connective tissue behind websites, applications, tools, and interactive experiences — making systems communicate reliably, securely, and efficiently. The work can span APIs, application logic, databases, authentication, cloud services, third-party integrations, data pipelines, internal tools, CMS platforms, and deployment infrastructure. We're not looking for someone who claims mastery of every platform. We want strong engineering fundamentals, demonstrated depth in at least one widely used back-end stack, and the judgment to work responsibly across different stacks and cloud environments without taking unnecessary risks. What You'll Do Design, build, document, and maintain back-end services and application logic. Develop stable APIs and integrations connecting sites, applications, widgets, CMS platforms, databases, and third-party services. Design data models and work with relational and non-relational databases as appropriate. Implement authentication, authorization, permissions, secrets management, and secure data handling. Build for reliability, performance, observability, scalability, and graceful failure. Diagnose integration failures, performance bottlenecks, data issues, and production incidents. Create automated tests and dependable deployment processes. Work within Azure, AWS, or comparable cloud environments and integrate with enterprise systems. Evaluate build-versus-buy decisions and recommend practical architectures. Document system behavior, dependencies, configuration, and recovery procedures. Communicate technical risk and tradeoffs clearly to both technical and non-technical teammates. What We're Looking For Strong back-end engineering fundamentals and professional experience shipping production systems. Demonstrated depth in at least one major server-side environment (Node.js/TypeScript, .NET/C\ , Python, Java, or comparable). Professional experience designing and consuming REST APIs; GraphQL is a plus. Strong database knowledge — schema design, querying, migrations, and data integrity. Experience with authentication, authorization, security fundamentals, and privacy-conscious development. Experience deploying and maintaining services in Azure, AWS, or another major cloud platform. Familiarity with logging, monitoring, automated testing, CI/CD, and incident diagnosis. Strong Git and collaborative development practices. Ability to evaluate an unfamiliar system, identify dependencies, and make safe implementation decisions. Nice to Have Microsoft Azure and .NET experience. AWS services and serverless architecture. Containerization and orchestration with Docker and Kubernetes. Infrastructure as code. Enterprise identity systems, SSO, OAuth, and Microsoft Entra ID. Payment, CRM, marketing-automation, e-commerce, analytics, or healthcare-system integrations. Experience with high-availability or compliance-sensitive environments. WordPress, headless CMS, or bespoke CMS architecture. Who Thrives Here We hire for fit as much as skill. The strongest people on our team are dependable, easy to work with, and trusted to carry work forward on their own. If the following sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you: Dependable. You do what you say you'll do, when you said you'd do it. Estimates, deadlines, and follow-through matter to you. Clear in English. You communicate clearly in written and spoken English — enough to surface technical risk, document systems so others aren't dependent on knowledge in your head, and explain tradeoffs to non-technical teammates. Coachable. You take direction well and stay coachable. Feedback isn't personal to you — you absorb it, apply it accurately, and improve. Independent. You can run with a clear brief and move work forward on your own, and you know when a question or a decision needs to be escalated rather than guessed. Available across time zones. You keep a consistent, agreed-upon overlap with U.S. (Pacific) business hours and flex around project needs. Work hours are flexible and project-based, but responsiveness during agreed windows is essential. Detail-obsessed. You care about the details. "Technically complete" is not the same as finished, and you sweat the last 10%. Trustworthy. You protect confidential client information and follow our security and file-handling requirements without being reminded. How We Work Together This is a fully remote role open to candidates outside the United States. You'll collaborate daily with a U.S.-based team, so a stable internet connection, a reliable working setup, and comfortable overlap with Pacific Time are important. We're flexible on the engagement structure — we work with people as freelance / project-based contractors and, for the right long-term fit, on a monthly salary basis. We're open to both, and we'll figure out the arrangement that works best for you and for the project. Initial assignments may be limited in scope so both sides can evaluate communication, craft, reliability, and working chemistry before expanding the relationship. Specific schedules, time-zone overlap, project duration, tools, and security requirements are defined per engagement. How To Apply If you're interested in the Back-End Developer / Systems Engineer role, please send the following: A short note on why this role and Ghost Agency appeal to you. Your CV / résumé. Links to systems, APIs, or projects you've shipped (with a note on your specific role), or relevant code samples. Your general availability and the hours you can overlap with U.S. Pacific Time. Whether you're looking for freelance / project-based work, a monthly salary role, or are open to either. We review every application and reply to candidates who look like a strong fit. We appreciate the time you put into applying. Ghost Agency evaluates people on the quality of their thinking, work, communication, and professional conduct. Work Location: Remote
Ghost
