Lead Software Engineer Backend

Role summary

Written by MyIslandJob from the job title and employer. See the employer's page for the full description.

Grab is seeking a Lead Software Engineer Backend in Indonesia to design, build, and maintain reliable, scalable backend services supporting its regional technology platform. The role typically requires strong experience in backend development, distributed systems, microservices, APIs, databases, cloud infrastructure, and software engineering best practices. Candidates should be proficient in languages such as Java, Go, Kotlin, or similar, and comfortable with system design, testing, monitoring, and performance optimization. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, collaborate with product and cross-functional teams, and help establish high standards for quality, security, and delivery. Experience operating large-scale systems, solving complex problems, and working in an agile environment is expected.

About the employer

Grab is a Southeast Asian technology company headquartered in Singapore, operating across mobility, food delivery, package delivery, digital payments, and financial services. Founded in 2012, it began as a ride-hailing service and grew into a multi-service platform serving millions of consumers, drivers, merchants, and business partners across countries including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Indonesia is one of Grab’s largest and most important markets. The company develops extensive software and data infrastructure to support transactions, logistics, mapping, payments, marketplace operations, and customer experiences at scale. Grab promotes technology-led innovation, customer focus, collaboration, and financial inclusion. Its engineering teams work on high-volume systems where reliability, security, experimentation, and efficient delivery are central to the business.

Working in Indonesia

Indonesia offers technology and business opportunities mainly in Java, especially Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya, where startups, banks, multinational companies, logistics firms, and Grab have substantial operations. Bali attracts remote workers, tourism, hospitality, and creative professionals, although local employment rules still apply. Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi provide opportunities in energy, commodities, manufacturing, agriculture, and regional services. Indonesian culture values community, respect, family, and relationship-building; modest dress and patience are appreciated. Lifestyle ranges from Jakarta’s busy urban environment to Bali’s more relaxed coastal setting, with varied food, transport, and living costs. Foreign employees generally need an employer-sponsored work permit and KITAS; working on a tourist visa is not permitted. Relocation usually involves employment approval, immigration processing, local registration, housing, healthcare, and tax arrangements. Learning basic Bahasa Indonesia is highly useful, while English is common in international technology workplaces.