Full Stack Engineer (Back End)

About the Company

Legal 500 was founded by John Pritchard in 1987 as the original clients’ guide to law firms, the first of its kind. It is now a data-driven, AI-optimised research platform which benchmarks, informs and connects providers and users of legal services in over 100 countries worldwide.

Our research and data are trusted and relied upon by corporate clients globally as an essential part of the process, both of instructing law firms with new mandates, and when reviewing existing mandates or panels.

We exist to empower both buyers and sellers in the international legal marketplace to make better decisions and have improved outcomes for their organisations. This is achieved by leveraging a trusted, comprehensive research process with a unique, vast, proprietary and constantly updated set of client-supplied data, unrivalled in the market.

On the supply side of the legal market, every year Legal 500’s team of over 150 researchers, technologists, data analysts, journalists and content specialists collate and review 60,000+ data-submissions from law firms and conduct interviews with thousands of leading law firm partners. On the demand side, Legal 500 analyses confidential data from 300,000+ commercial law firm clients to benchmark law firms and lawyers by practice area; industry; jurisdiction; as well as by proprietary client satisfaction metrics, NPS®, and other qualitative and quantitative criteria.

Legal 500 is the only source of this depth of global research and data on law firms, lawyers and their clients.

About the Role

We are seeking a Full Stack Engineer (Back End Focused) to join our dynamic team as we modernise our platform, refactor legacy systems, and build new tools that directly impact users across the legal world. This is a full-time, permanent position based in Fleet Street, with a hybrid working model requiring two days per week in our London office.

As a Back End-leaning Full Stack Engineer, you’ll support us in designing and building robust APIs and backend systems using Node.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, and GraphQL. You’ll help us drive forward our platform infrastructure while ensuring smooth integration with modern front-end interfaces. You’ll work closely with the product, data, and front-end teams to create scalable, secure, and maintainable systems.

You’ll also be key to our efforts in refactoring legacy code, enhancing performance, and improving developer workflows — helping to future-proof our platform. Strong initiative, ownership, and a problem-solving mindset are essential, along with the ability to communicate technical ideas clearly.

The Ideal Candidate

Required Technical Skills:

• Node.js & TypeScript
• REST and GraphQL API development
• PostgreSQL or similar relational databases
• Experience integrating third-party APIs and services
• Familiarity with microservice design, authentication, and deployment

Preferred Additional Skills:

• Experience with legacy system refactoring and migration projects
• Understanding of backend architecture and data modelling
• Exposure to frontend tools (React, Next.js) is a bonus
• Testing practices (Jest, Node Test, or equivalent)

What We're Looking For:

• Solid experience as a Back End or Full Stack Engineer (3–6 years)
• Track record of building backend-heavy applications end-to-end
• Strong grasp of data design, backend logic, and secure API development
• Product-oriented mindset — you think beyond the code
• Comfortable working with legacy code and modernising systems
• Team player who enjoys collaborating across disciplines

Why Join Legal 500?

• Join a collaborative, growing internal team with meaningful projects
• Build legal tech tools used globally by top law firms and professionals
• Focus on real product impact with freedom to innovate
• Work in a modern hybrid environment (Tues/Thurs in-office)
• Competitive salary of £65,000–£80,000 and the chance to shape a platform at scale

If you’re a backend-focused engineer who’s excited by building impactful solutions and contributing to a well-established but fast-evolving product team — we’d love to hear from you.