Remote Scala Backend Developer — Play & APIs

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Scala Developer to join a dynamic team working on high-impact projects. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in Scala and Play Framework, with a passion for building robust, scalable backend services and APIs. This is a fully remote contract role with an immediate start.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend services and APIs using Scala and Play Framework.
• Implement RESTful endpoints, manage request/response lifecycle, and handle authentication/authorization flows.
• Write clean, idiomatic Scala code and apply functional programming principles where appropriate.
• Develop and maintain automated tests (unit and integration) and support test automation initiatives.
• Collaborate with product owners, UX designers, QA, and other engineers in an Agile environment (Scrum/Kanban).
• Participate in code reviews, architecture discussions, and pair programming sessions.
• Troubleshoot and resolve production issues; contribute to reliability and observability (logging, metrics, alerts).
• Assist in defining CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Concourse).
• Produce concise technical documentation and handover notes.

Must-Have Skills & Experience

• 3+ years professional experience with Scala.
• 2+ years hands-on experience with Play Framework (controllers, routing, forms, HTTP filters).
• Strong understanding of functional programming concepts and idiomatic Scala (immutability, monads; familiarity with Cats or Scalaz is a plus).
• Experience designing and consuming REST APIs, including JSON validation/serialization (Play JSON, Circe).
• Proficiency with relational databases (PostgreSQL) and/or NoSQL (MongoDB), including schema design and query optimization.
• Proven experience writing unit and integration tests (ScalaTest, Specs2, Mockito, etc.).
• Familiarity with sbt and dependency management.
• Experience with Git and branching strategies.
• Good understanding of HTTP, web security best practices, and performance considerations.
• Experience working in Agile teams and participating in ceremonies.

If you're interested, feel free to reach out to me on