NodeJS Application Architect (temporary contract)

companyDescription jobDescription About You You are a Senior Application Architect with strong hands-on experience designing scalable, secure, and high-performance backend systems in distributed environments. You enjoy solving complex integration challenges, defining robust API ecosystems, and building cloud-native solutions on Microsoft Azure. You bring a strong architectural mindset combined with practical engineering experience, allowing you to balance technical excellence with business impact. You are comfortable working in production-critical environments, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and guiding technical decisions that improve scalability, reliability, and maintainability. Note: This role operates under a 7-month contractor model, with the possibility of extension. You Bring to Applaudo the Following Competencies: 6+ years of experience in backend architecture, software engineering, or similar technical leadership roles. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent practical experience. Strong hands-on experience designing scalable backend architectures and distributed systems. Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Azure cloud services and cloud-native architectures. Solid experience designing and governing API ecosystems using REST and/or GraphQL. Strong understanding of API Management platforms such as Azure API Management, Apigee, or API Gateway solutions. Experience implementing secure authentication and authorization mechanisms using OAuth2, OpenID Connect, and Azure AD. Hands-on experience with event-driven architectures and asynchronous processing patterns. Experience working with messaging systems and integration-heavy environments. Strong knowledge of backend technologies such as Node.js and NestJS. Experience working with relational databases such as PostgreSQL and SQL Server. Strong understanding of scalability, availability, resiliency, and system performance optimization. Experience troubleshooting and supporting production-level distributed systems. Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills. Advanced English proficiency with conversational fluency for US-based stakeholder collaboration. You Will Be Accountable for the Following Responsibilities Design scalable, secure, and resilient backend architectures for complex distributed systems. Define and govern API ecosystems, integration patterns, and technical architecture standards. Lead architecture decisions related to cloud-native solutions on Microsoft Azure. Design and optimize event-driven and asynchronous processing solutions. Architect secure authentication and authorization flows using industry best practices. Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure architecture alignment and technical feasibility. Translate business and operational requirements into robust technical solutions. Drive performance, scalability, availability, and reliability improvements across systems. Support integration strategies with external platforms, services, and enterprise systems. Troubleshoot and resolve complex production-level architecture and integration issues. Mentor engineering teams and provide technical leadership across projects. Develop and maintain technical documentation, architecture standards, and integration guidelines. Ensure solutions comply with security, reliability, and operational best practices. qualifications 6+ years of experience in backend development with a demonstrated shift into architecture or senior tech lead roles. Hands-on Azure experience in production environments. Strong API design and integration background (experience with API Gateway, Apigee, or Azure APIM). Advanced English proficiency with conversational fluency for US-based stakeholder collaboration. additionalInformation About Us We Are Engineered Different. At Applaudo, talented people design, build, and scale meaningful, AI-powered solutions that create real business impact. As an AI-native organization, we collaborate across design, development, cloud, data, and artificial intelligence to turn ideas into scalable products that transform how companies operate, make decisions, and grow. We are building a high-performance culture grounded in five values: Empowering Excellence, Collaborative Teamwork, Unsolicited Respect, Consistent Transparency, and Efficient Communication. These define how we work, how we support one another, and how we hold ourselves accountable. Applaudo is a place for people who want to learn fast, take ownership, and work alongside strong teams they are proud to belong to. Joining us means being part of an organization that is evolving intentionally, investing in modern ways of working, and leading AI-native transformation at scale.