Principal Server Engineer
About the job
- Deep expertise in Go and Python, including language internals, execution models, and performance tuning such as goroutine management, garbage-collection tuning, and zero-allocation techniques.
- Strong PostgreSQL fluency in scalable schema design, query-plan analysis, and index-strategy optimization, with examples of resolving bottlenecks through data-layout or query-architecture changes; experience with Nakama's storage layer or CockroachDB is a plus.
- Proven experience scaling systems supporting at least 350,000 daily active users, with a horizontal-scaling-first philosophy and efficient serialization and deserialization using Protobuf or MsgPack, as well as reduced lock contention.
- Hands-on profiling experience identifying and resolving memory leaks, CPU spikes, and deadlocks.
- At least two concrete examples of complex production performance issues or outages, including root-cause analysis and resolution methodology.
- At least two released production projects as a core backend engineer handling live traffic.
- Practical experience with Nakama, including custom Go runtime modules, matchmaker, storage engine, realtime sockets, and running Nakama clusters in production; Lua or TypeScript is a plus.
- Hands-on experience with Redis, KeyDB, or Memcached for caching, rate limiting, and state management, including cache-stampede mitigation, serialization overhead, and eviction-policy design.
- Solid test-driven development and behavior-driven development judgment and practical load-testing experience, including realtime/socket workloads.
- Practical GCP or Google App Engine experience deploying, monitoring, and scaling serverless or container services.
- Design, build, and maintain Go and Python backend services for live, high-traffic game titles, including server-authoritative logic and runtime modules on Nakama.
- Extend and operate Nakama for core game services, including authentication, matchmaking, leaderboards, storage, remote procedure calls, and realtime multiplayer.
- Own database schema design and query performance across PostgreSQL systems, including Nakama's storage layer.
- Drive horizontal-scaling strategy, including Nakama clustering and stateless services, while optimizing CPU and memory footprint and reducing lock contention rather than relying on vertical scaling.
- Profile and resolve memory leaks, CPU spikes, and deadlocks in production.
- Lead root-cause investigations for performance issues and outages, from detection through resolution.
- Architect and maintain in-memory caching and state layers using Redis, KeyDB, or Memcached.
- Design and run load tests against Nakama and supporting services to identify breaking points ahead of release.
- CI/CD and DevOps experience with GitHub Actions or GitLab CI, plus monitoring and alerting experience with Prometheus or Datadog.
- A strong grasp of networking protocols, including WebSockets, gRPC/HTTP2, and UDP/TCP tuning for low-latency realtime systems.
About the company
UserWise Services builds high-performance external teams for game studios to move fast, scale intelligently, and operate for the long term. They focus on new game development, LiveOps, growth, maintenance, and portfolio-level product execution, embedding teams that act like internal staff. How it works: their teams take ownership and run production and LiveOps using a proprietary AI-powered toolset that accelerates design, content creation, LiveOps execution, and decision-making as part of daily workflows. The company differentiates itself through a distributed, senior-leaning workforce and tools that reduce friction across design, art, engineering, data, and LiveOps, enabling decisions grounded in player impact. Their goal is to help partners grow games to large, sustainable outcomes, already supporting studios managing $100M+ in annual revenue across portfolios, with operations across the US and EU.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Madison, Wisconsin
Founded
2020
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- ClariMed opened Cambridge and expanded UK facilities in February 2025, signaling growth.
- ClariMed acquired We Are Human in August 2025, expanding UserWise-adjacent research coverage.
- ClariMed added software, AI/ML, and cybersecurity leadership in 2026, broadening cross-sell opportunities.
What critics are saying
- UserWise is now subsumed under ClariMed, ending standalone employer autonomy after August 2022.
- ClariMed's 2025-2026 acquisitions shift priorities toward bigger platform integration, not UserWise branding.
- MedTech services depend on regulated-device budgets; contract delays hit consulting utilization within one quarter.
What makes UserWise Services unique
- Acquired by ClariMed in 2023, UserWise anchors integrated MedTech human-factors services.
- UserWise built usability engineering, recruitment, simulation, and IRB capabilities for medical devices.
- ClariMed says UserWise supports FDA-linked research and educational seminars in human factors.
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Benefits
- Remote Work Options
- Paid Vacation
- Performance Bonus
- Flexible Work Hours