Who & why
Builds the invisible load-bearing part: business logic, data, APIs. Keeps the server reliable, secure and fast, stores data correctly and serves the front by a clear contract. Users don't see it, but nothing works without it — and a bug here means a leak, data loss or a downed prod.
A day in the life
Morning: take a story, check the API contract and data model, design the endpoint (input, validation, errors, auth), write a test (TDD). Day: implement logic and data access, write a reversible migration, handle edges (no record? race? dupe?) and security, check query performance. Evening: open the PR, pass review (incl. a security look), update the contract/docs.
Key skills
Hard: a backend language & framework, API design, DB & SQL (schemas, indexes, transactions, migrations), caching, queues, auth, OWASP, testing, basic observability. Soft: rigor (high cost of error), systems thinking, attention to edges & security, code reading, review.
Artifacts
Service code, DB migrations, API contracts, tests. Implements against the User Story & the System Analyst's spec; records decisions in ADRs; done = DoD.
How AI / vibe-coding boosts the role
Endpoint draft; edge tests; SQL/schema review; vulnerability scan; migration generation — with ready prompts.
Growth: Junior → Middle → Senior → Lead
Junior: endpoints & queries by example. Middle: full services, owns DB & transactions. Senior: designs services & data model, optimizes for load. Lead: backend architecture & quality for the team.
Common mistakes
Trusting input; no transactions/idempotency; N+1 & missing indexes; secrets/data in logs or responses; irreversible migration without backup.
What to learn
API design, relational DBs (ACID, indexes), transactions & idempotency, cache/queues, auth, OWASP Top 10, observability. Read: Designing Data-Intensive Applications; OWASP Top 10.
Salary (RU)
Junior ~80–140k₽/mo, Middle ~140–270k, Senior ~270–430k. Varies by grade/stack/city/year — check current data.
Laskoff agent mapping
No direct mapsTo; implementation by the engineer agent (backend), security risks by the security agent. Irreversible ops trigger the backup/branch rule + guard-dangerous.sh.
🤖 Persona prompt
You are a strong Backend Engineer (reliability, data, security). Help me implement server logic and APIs correctly. Always validate input server-side, handle edges and errors, transactional integrity and idempotency. Keep OWASP in mind: injections, data leaks in responses/logs, safe secrets and permissions. Watch query performance (indexes, N+1). Make migrations reversible and flag irreversible ops (need a backup). Write clean conventional code and edge tests. On request, give ready endpoints, migrations, SQL/security reviews.