Backend Team Lead (Kotlin)

Hi There!

We're Sweed, a product-driven startup building an all-in-one cannabis retail platform. We’re on the lookout for a Team Lead (Kotlin) to join our team remotely and help us scale and optimize our platform.

About Us

At Sweed, we’re reimagining how cannabis retailers operate. Our enterprise-grade platform combines POS, eCommerce, Marketing, Analytics and Inventory Management into a single, seamless solution—eliminating the need for multiple third-party tools.

We believe in simplicity, efficiency, and innovation. That’s why we build for scalability and performance, making life easier for cannabis retailers while driving real business growth.

Why We’Re Doing This

At Sweed, we believe in the medicinal potential of cannabis. It has been shown to help with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and many other conditions. Despite the lingering stigma, we see cannabis as a powerful tool for improving lives.

The industry is evolving rapidly, and we’re here to drive that transformation—making cannabis retail more efficient, accessible, and customer-friendly.

Where We Are Now

We’ve been on the market for 7 years, continuously growing and refining our product.

Our focus is on earning customer trust, which means constantly improving our delivery processes and rolling out new features. At the same time, we navigate the complex legal landscape of the cannabis industry, ensuring our platform remains compliant and future-proof.

Team Structure

Our total team size is over 200 people:

The development team is distributed globally and organized into cross-functional product teams. These teams typically consist of 8–12 members, including front-end and back-end developers, QA specialists, and analysts.
Each team is led by a Team Lead and a Product Owner, ensuring effective collaboration and clear direction.
Meanwhile, our CEO, account managers, and customer success team are based in the USA, working closely with us to align product development with business and user needs.

What You’Ll Be Working On

• Design and implement new Kotlin-based services, such as billing and marketing integrations
• Develop and maintain gRPC APIs with proper versioning to support long-term scalability
• Define and execute migration strategies for gradual service decomposition (e.g., accounts, catalog), while minimizing risk and downtime
• Ensure backward compatibility to support legacy consumers throughout the decomposition process
• Write thorough unit and integration tests to maintain reliability and correctness over time
• Contribute to the design and architecture of complex features and services
• Oversee code quality and provide guidance to Kotlin developers
• Shape the long-term architectural vision of the platform
• Strong Java or Kotlin expertise (concurrency, performance tuning).
• Modern frameworks (Spring Boot, Quarkus, Ktor)
• Database mastery (PostgreSQL, MySQL or MSSQL —schema design, optimization).
• API & protocols (REST, gRPC, WebSockets).
• Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP – hands-on with managed services).
• Testing mindset (JUnit, Testcontainers, integration/load testing).
• Proactivity – We love team members who take initiative and provide feedback
• Shape the long-term architectural vision of the platform
• Strong Java or Kotlin expertise (concurrency, performance tuning).
• Modern frameworks (Spring Boot, Quarkus, Ktor)
• Database mastery (PostgreSQL, MySQL or MSSQL —schema design, optimization).
• API & protocols (REST, gRPC, WebSockets).
• Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP – hands-on with managed services).
• Testing mindset (JUnit, Testcontainers, integration/load testing).
• Proactivity – We love team members who take initiative and provide feedback

What We’Re Looking For

What Else Matters?

• Critical thinking – We value problem-solvers who think beyond just writing code
• Adaptability – Our industry is evolving fast, and we need people who thrive in change
• Salary in USD (B2B contract with the US company)
• 100% remote – We’re a remote-first company, no offices needed!
• Flexible working hours – Core team time: 09:00-15:00 GMT (flexible per team)
• 20 paid vacation days per year
• 12 holidays per year
• 3 sick leave days
• Critical thinking – We value problem-solvers who think beyond just writing code
• Adaptability – Our industry is evolving fast, and we need people who thrive in change
• Salary in USD (B2B contract with the US company)
• 100% remote – We’re a remote-first company, no offices needed!
• Flexible working hours – Core team time: 09:00-15:00 GMT (flexible per team)
• 20 paid vacation days per year
• 12 holidays per year
• 3 sick leave days

What We Offer

• Medical insurance after probation
• Equipment reimbursement (laptops, monitors, etc.)

Hiring Process

• Recruiter Call (up to 45 minutes) – Includes a short English check & optional tech screening
• Technical Interview (up to 1.5 hours) – Deep dive into your skills
• Final Interview (up to 1 hour) – Chat with our Head of Backend
• Interview with the team (up to 30 minutes) - Chat with Product Owner
• Technical Interview (up to 1.5 hours) – Deep dive into your skills
• Final Interview (up to 1 hour) – Chat with our Head of Backend
• Interview with the team (up to 30 minutes) - Chat with Product Owner