Senior Backend Engineer II

• Join the Special Projects Team, responsible for building Runna features directly inside the Strava app. • Design and build the services that let Strava athletes experience Runna’s structured training and workout analysis natively within Strava. • Shape how two products with tens of millions of combined users connect at the data and platform level. • Work with Strava’s tech stack across Ruby, Java, Scala, Python, Go, MySQL, Redis, Cassandra, Kafka, Kubernetes, Docker, Elasticsearch, and GraphQL. • Partner directly with Strava engineering teams in San Francisco and Berlin, which involves some overlap with US and CET working hours. • Become the go-to resource on Strava’s backend stack for the wider Runna engineering team. • Join at a magical moment, following Runna’s 2025 acquisition by Strava. • Work a flexible hybrid model that means more than half your time on-site, at three days a week in the London office.

• Bring 5+ years of professional software development experience, or equivalent expertise in backend engineering. • Be proficient in at least one of Strava’s core backend languages: Ruby, Java, Scala, Python, or Go. • Bring experience with relational databases such as MySQL and NoSQL databases such as Redis and Cassandra in production environments. • Bring a solid understanding of distributed systems and API design. • Work confidently with technologies such as Kafka, Kubernetes, and Docker. • Excel at mentoring engineers and fostering a positive, growth-oriented team culture. • Work comfortably with colleagues across US and European time zones, with occasional flexibility on working hours to enable that overlap. • Be London based and able to work three days a week from the Vauxhall office.

• Bring experience with GraphQL API design. • Bring experience with Elasticsearch in production. • Bring experience aligning data contracts, service boundaries, and integration patterns across separate engineering organisations. • Bring experience building integrations between two consumer products at scale. • Bring a personal interest in health, fitness, or sports technology. • Let your Talent Partner know if anything would help you show your best self during the process, from scheduling around childcare commitments to accessibility requirements.

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services using Strava’s tech stack. • Develop and optimise APIs that integrate seamlessly with client-facing applications. • Partner directly with Strava engineering teams in San Francisco and Berlin to align on data contracts, service boundaries, and integration patterns. • Collaborate with product managers, designers, and client-side engineers to align technical implementation with business needs. • Mentor and support other engineers, fostering a culture of learning, growth, and technical excellence. • Ensure service reliability, scalability, and performance while balancing technical debt against new feature development. • Act as the go-to resource on Strava’s backend stack for the wider Runna engineering team, building that fluency through pairing, code review, and knowledge-sharing sessions.

Runna is one of the most exciting fitness startups in the UK right now, and the Strava acquisition only makes the opportunity bigger. In under four years from launch, Dom and Ben built Runna from a website selling personalised PDF training plans to a globally rated running coaching app, a finalist for Apple's iPhone App of the Year, and ultimately an acquisition by the world's largest fitness community. The team has grown to over 150 people across London and Boston, and Strava has publicly committed to investing further in growing both the team and the product. What stands out on Glassdoor (4.9/5 from 31 reviews, with 100% of employees recommending it) is how consistently people praise the culture, the kindness of their colleagues, and the quality of the leadership. Benefits are genuinely strong for a company this size: private health insurance, enhanced parental leave (up to 20 weeks fully paid), Strava equity, a smartwatch as you pass probation, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, and a paid hour each week to go for a run during work hours. They operate a flexi-hybrid model, typically three days a week in their Vauxhall office. The team runs bi-weekly together, and Workout Wednesdays include exercise plus a free lunch. The main thing to be aware of is that this is a fast-paced startup environment where priorities can shift quickly, which some reviewers flag as a challenge. There is also a slight bias toward hiring passionate runners, though this has been improving. If you want to work on a product that helped millions of runners train, alongside kind and ambitious people, with the backing and scale of Strava behind you, Runna is a brilliant opportunity.

• Earn a salary of £85,000 to £95,000 depending on experience, plus participation in Strava’s long-term incentive stock programs. • Work flexibly, typically spending three days a week together in the Vauxhall office. • Take 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, whenever suits you. • Get free Runna and Strava subscriptions for yourself and three friends, plus your own Strava membership. • Use a Headspace membership and Modern Health, a mental wellness platform combining technology with professional support. • Receive money every year to spend on gear, events, and the gym. • Spend a voucher on new Runna kit from the website, renewed every year on your work anniversary. • Access private health insurance with Bupa and a workplace pension scheme. • Use Carrot fertility support, covering inclusive fertility, hormonal health, and family-forming benefits.

Runna is building the number one training platform for runners, helping everyday runners become outstanding through an app offering world-class training, coaching and community, whether they are improving a 5k time or training for a first marathon. It closed a $6.5M funding round led by JamJar in November 2023 with participation from Eka Ventures, Venrex and Creator Ventures, was selected by Apple as one of three global finalists for iPhone app of the year in 2024, and was acquired by Strava in 2025. Its ambition is to become the go-to global training platform for millions of runners everywhere.