Freelance Backend Software Engineer at Beyond Sports (Budapest, Hungary)
Beyond Sports· Budapest, Hungary·
Role details
Job description
SENIOR BACKEND JAVA ENGINEER (FREELANCE CONTRACT) – HUNGARY
Contract Length: 3+ Months Start Date: ASAP Day Rate: 120,000 HUF – 180,000 HUF per day Location: Hungary
About the Role
Beyond Sports is looking for an experienced Senior Backend Java Engineer to support the development, scaling, and modernisation of our high-performance backend systems and cloud infrastructure.
This is a hands-on freelance contract opportunity for a senior engineer with deep Java expertise, strong cloud experience, and a passion for building resilient, scalable systems. You’ll work closely with cross-functional engineering teams to refactor core microservices, improve system architecture, and ensure low-latency integrations across our web and mobile platforms.
Key Responsibilities
- Design, refactor, and maintain scalable backend microservices and REST APIs using Java and Spring Boot
- Re-architect existing backend systems to optimize for maintainability, reliability, and throughput
- Implement secure identity, secrets management, and authentication standards across cloud environments
- Integrate third-party systems, including real-time sports data feeds, video streams, and commentary providers
- Deploy and manage containerised services using Docker and Kubernetes
- Provision and maintain cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform
- Build, automate, and manage deployment workflows using modern CI/CD pipelines
- Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize application and database performance
- Participate in technical planning, architectural discussions, and peer code reviews
- Produce clear, maintainable technical documentation for APIs and core backend systems
Required Skills & Experience
Essential
- Strong commercial contracting experience with Java and Spring Boot
- Proven background building, deploying, and maintaining applications in production cloud environments (AWS or Azure)
- Hands-on experience with containerisation and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes
- Expertise in designing and building secure, high-traffic RESTful APIs
- Practical experience writing Infrastructure as Code using Terraform
- Solid working knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, DynamoDB, Cosmos DB)
- Deep understanding of cloud security fundamentals (IAM, secrets management, key vaults)
- Experience setting up and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines, or ArgoCD)
Desirable
- Experience with event-driven architectures using Apache Kafka or similar messaging systems
- Prior exposure to performance tuning and cloud cost-optimisation strategies
- Strong automated testing practices (unit, integration, and regression testing)
- Understanding of cloud networking components (VPCs/VNets, API Gateways)
Why work at Beyond Sports
- Culture & Environment: Described as “more like a living room than a corporate space,” with an open, modern office overlooking canals in Alkmaar. High value placed on diversity — 17 nationalities among 50+ team members.
- Workspace & Perks: In-office role with two adjacent offices; ping-pong, corn-hole, darts, video games, and board games; freshly prepared hot meals three times a week by an in-house chef, plus fresh fruit, snacks, and drinks.
- Growth & Development: Access to learning courses; hands-on work with industry-leading data technology on high-impact projects for world-renowned sports organizations.
- Wellness: Company fitness card for a nearby gym; ergonomic work equipment provided from day one.
- Team Events: Regular Friday drinks, project watch parties, and an annual company trip.