Backend Engineer Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Backend engineers are among the most commonly sponsored roles in the U.S., with H-1B being the dominant visa type. Tech companies of all sizes, from FAANG to startups, routinely sponsor backend engineers. TN visas work for Canadians and Mexicans, and O-1A is an option if you have notable open-source contributions or patents. The H-1B lottery is your main hurdle since the role itself easily qualifies as a specialty occupation. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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Get Access To All JobsEngine by MoneyLion collaborates with leading financial institutions to deliver the most comprehensive and personalized financial product offers to consumers. As a Staff Engineer on the Backend Core Enterprise team, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping products that integrate seamlessly with existing features, data, and infrastructure across the organization. These API-driven solutions power internal systems and are packaged for delivery to our extensive partner network. The team’s mission is to amplify the impact of existing verticals while engineering industry-leading architecture designed for scale, speed, and innovation.
Get ready to shape the future of scalable, high-impact distributed systems. As a Staff Engineer in this role, you’ll drive the technical design and delivery of complex software solutions that impact the entire organization. By defining and building an internal software platform, you’ll empower teams to deliver predictable, high-quality features at scale. Collaborating with stakeholders and partners, you’ll refine architectural constraints and requirements, ensuring alignment with both immediate needs and long-term goals. Your expertise will guide the organization’s architectural strategy, and your influence will extend through design and code reviews, technical mentorship, and fostering a culture of excellence in hiring and innovation.
This role is onsite 3 days a week out of our New York City office.
About the Role
- Design and implement large-scale backend software systems creating new partner-facing and internal data-driven APIs.
- Review code with an emphasis on readability and maintainability.
- Write API and technical documentation for services and new architecture.
- Optimize database schemas to support scalable, high-performance backend services.
- Contribute to our RFC process by writing technical proposals and providing feedback to others.
- Mentor and guide technical growth of engineering talent.
- Be a resource for solving hard, technical problems across teams and projects.
- Stay up-to-date with the state of the software industry.
About You
- A minimum of 8+ years of experience in software engineering.
- 2+ years of proven success in senior engineering roles.
- Demonstrated success collaborating across engineering, product, and business functions to deliver functionality.
- Meticulous attention to detail in reviewing others' and your own work.
- Experience developing and testing in Scala or other JVM languages.
- Solid understanding of software design patterns, functional programming, and database schema design.
- Experience designing highly scalable event streaming architecture using Kafka/MSK or equivalent.
- Experience with service-oriented architecture and RESTful API design.
- Expertise in PostgreSQL.
- Expertise in AWS product and tools.
- Knowledge of monitoring and observability tools, including Datadog or equivalent.
Additional Skillset
- Experience in customer-facing roles.
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Familiar with modern DevOps tooling:
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Kubernetes/Docker
- Terraform
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Familiar with Scala and the Lightbend and Typelevel ecosystems:
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Lightbend: Slick, Play/Play JSON
- Typelevel: http4s, doobie/skunk, circe, cats, cats-effect
- Debezium
COMPENSATION
- The annual base salary for the Staff Engineer is expected to be between $200,000 - $220,000. Base salary is one component of MoneyLion's total compensation package, which includes, 401(k) match, multiple health insurance options, disability coverage, life insurance, and unlimited paid time off for salaried positions. Actual salaries will vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and competencies related to the role.
How to Get Visa Sponsorship as a Backend Engineer
Demonstrate system design expertise for distributed architectures
Backend engineers who can design scalable microservices, implement message queues, and manage distributed databases are in high demand. Companies like Amazon, Uber, and Netflix specifically seek engineers who can handle systems operating at massive scale. Highlighting this expertise positions you for roles that command strong salaries and clear sponsorship pathways.
Target fintech companies building real-time transaction systems
Fintech firms like Stripe, Square, Plaid, and Robinhood rely on backend engineers to build low-latency payment processing, fraud detection, and compliance systems. These companies face intense competition for backend talent and are often willing to sponsor. The technical complexity of financial systems also creates a strong specialty occupation argument.
Highlight database optimization and data modeling skills
Experience with PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, or Cassandra at scale differentiates backend engineers from general developers. Employers value candidates who can optimize query performance, design efficient schemas, and manage database replication. These specialized skills support both the job offer and the technical justification in a visa petition.
Build API design skills that demonstrate professional-grade work
RESTful and GraphQL API design is central to backend engineering, and employers expect candidates to understand versioning, authentication, rate limiting, and documentation standards. A portfolio that includes well-documented API projects shows you can own critical integration points. Companies increasingly evaluate backend candidates on API design interviews specifically.
Consider backend roles at healthtech and biotech companies
Companies like Epic Systems, Veeva Systems, and Flatiron Health employ backend engineers to build HIPAA-compliant data platforms and clinical systems. Healthcare technology firms are growing rapidly and competing with big tech for engineering talent. The regulatory requirements of healthcare data create specialized backend challenges that map well to specialty occupation criteria.
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Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
What programming languages are most in demand for sponsored backend engineer roles?
Java, Python, Go, and Node.js are the most commonly requested languages in sponsored backend engineer positions. Java dominates at large enterprises and financial institutions, while Go has gained significant traction at cloud-native companies and startups. Your language expertise should align with the tech stack of your target employers, as companies typically seek backend engineers with deep experience in their primary language.
Are backend engineer roles available at non-tech companies with visa sponsorship?
Yes. Retailers like Walmart and Target, financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, and healthcare companies all employ backend engineers and sponsor visas. Non-tech companies often have large engineering teams building internal platforms, APIs, and data systems. These employers may have less competition for roles compared to marquee tech firms.
How do backend engineer H-1B petitions compare to full stack positions?
Backend engineer petitions can be straightforward because the role has well-defined technical requirements - server-side architecture, database design, API development - that clearly demand specialized knowledge. Full stack positions sometimes face more scrutiny because the breadth of duties can appear less specialized. A focused backend role with specific system design responsibilities maps cleanly to specialty occupation criteria.
Do backend engineers need a master's degree for visa sponsorship?
A bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field is typically sufficient for backend engineer H-1B petitions. A master's degree is not required but can provide an advantage in the H-1B lottery by qualifying you for the U.S. advanced degree exemption, which gives you an additional chance at selection. It can also justify higher prevailing wage levels.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Backend Engineer jobs?
When a U.S. employer sponsors a foreign worker for a work visa, they are legally required to pay at least the "prevailing wage" — the average wage paid to workers in the same occupation, in the same geographic area, with similar experience. This is set by the Department of Labor to prevent employers from hiring foreign workers at below-market rates. The prevailing wage varies significantly by role, location, and experience level — for example, a backend engineer in California will have a different prevailing wage than the same role in a smaller state. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search.
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