Sr Backend Engineer - GraphQL Federation

Posted Yesterday
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Dublin, IRL
In-Office
Senior level
eCommerce • Retail
The Role
Architect and build eBay's global GraphQL Federation platform, designing high-performance federated architectures (Apollo/WunderGraph), scaling gateways and tooling, optimizing queries and caching, enforcing AuthN/AuthZ and rate limiting, and driving observability and developer experience across distributed services.
Summary Generated by Built In

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.

Location: Dublin, Ireland 

Organization: eBay Application Platform – Frameworks Team

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 [email protected]. 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.


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Skills Required

  • 6+ years of backend engineering experience with deep focus on GraphQL Federation in production environments
  • Experience with Apollo Federation
  • Experience with WunderGraph
  • Mastery of Java (Spring Boot)
  • Mastery of Node.js
  • Proven system design experience in microservices, distributed systems, and data modeling
  • Knowledge of multithreading and asynchronous processing
  • Hands-on experience with Kubernetes
  • Hands-on experience with CI/CD (Jenkins, Maven)
  • Experience with cloud-native deployment patterns
  • Experience implementing AuthN/AuthZ, rate limiting, and observability
  • Experience with query optimization, caching strategies, and schema composition at scale
  • Familiarity with SOLID principles and a Platform-as-a-Product mindset

eBay Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about eBay and has not been reviewed or approved by eBay.

  • Healthcare Strength Medical, dental, and vision coverage begin on the date of hire, complemented by mental health resources, an EAP, disability coverage, FSAs, and wellness initiatives.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth A robust mix of PTO, paid holidays, flexible work styles, parental leave, and a four‑week paid sabbatical after five years supports work‑life balance.
  • Equity Value & Accessibility Total compensation commonly includes stock components, with access to an employee stock purchase plan at a discount and stock awards enhancing overall packages.

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The Company
HQ: San Jose, CA
26,035 Employees

What We Do

eBay Inc. is a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world. We exist to enable economic opportunity for individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all sizes. Our portfolio of brands includes eBay Marketplace and eBay Classifieds Group, operating in 190 markets around the world. We offer sellers the ability to grow a business with little barrier to entry regardless of size, background or geographic location. We never compete with our sellers. We win when our sellers succeed. Buyers who shop on our Marketplace and Classifieds platforms enjoy a highly personalized experience with an unparalleled selection at great value.

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