Sr Backend Engineer - GraphQL Federation

About eBay

At eBay, we're more than a global ecommerce leader — we're changing the way the world shops and sells. Our platform empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world. We're committed to pushing boundaries and leaving our mark as we reinvent the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts. Our customers are our compass, authenticity thrives, bold ideas are welcome, and everyone can bring their unique selves to work — every day. We're in this together, sustaining the future of our customers, our company, and our planet. Join a team of passionate thinkers, innovators, and dreamers — and help us connect people and build communities to create economic opportunity for all.

Position Details

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Organization: eBay Application Platform – Frameworks Team

Title: Senior Backend Engineer

The Opportunity

Join the team architecting the future of eBay's API ecosystem. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will build, scale, and evolve our global GraphQL Federation platform. You won't just be building subgraphs; you will be shaping the infrastructure that enables hundreds of internal teams and millions of global users to interact with eBay's data seamlessly. You'll help build, operate, and evolve our GraphQL Federation and the platform to ensure scalable, reliable, and developer-friendly APIs, enabling seamless experiences for eBay's partners, sellers, and internal teams.

What You Will Accomplish

• Architect the Supergraph: Design and implement high-performance federated architectures with platforms such as Apollo Federation and WunderGraph.
• Scale Platform Infrastructure: Develop the core tooling and gateways that empower distributed teams to integrate services into a unified, reliable schema.
• Optimize Performance: Drive initiatives for query optimization, advanced caching strategies, and efficient schema composition at global scale.
• Ensure Resilience: Implement critical security patterns (AuthN/AuthZ), rate limiting, and observability across the federation layer.
• Technical Leadership: Act as a domain expert on SOLID principles. Help teams weigh REST versus GraphQL trade-offs and federation standards to deliver a world-class developer experience.

What You Bring

• Expertise: 6+ years of backend engineering experience, with a deep focus on GraphQL Federation in production environments.
• Technical Stack: Mastery of Java (Spring Boot) and Node.js. You should be comfortable moving between high-performance JVM services and JavaScript environments.
• System Design: Proven track record in microservices, distributed systems, and data modeling. You understand the nuances of multithreading and asynchronous processing.
• Cloud Native: Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, CI/CD (Jenkins/Maven), and cloud-native deployment patterns.
• Outlook: A "Platform-as-a-Product" approach. You prioritize reliability, scalability, and the success of the developers using your platform.

Additional Details

eBay is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and disability, or other legally protected status. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please contact us at talent@ebay.com. We will make every effort to respond to your request for accommodation as soon as possible. View our accessibility statement to learn more about eBay's commitment to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We use cookies to enhance your experience and may use AI tools for administrative tasks in the hiring process. To learn how we handle your personal data and use AI responsibly, please visit our Talent Privacy Notice, Privacy Center, and AI Hiring Guidelines.