Ruby Rails Developer Contract Jobs in Kentucky (NOW HIRING)

NextLink Labs is a fast growing technology firm focused on helping companies build, scale, and secure their software applications and organizations. We believe that in order for companies, teams, and products to succeed, technology must be utilized effectively and securely. We pride ourselves in helping our clients win in their respective industries.

As a remote-first company with team members spread out all across the country, NextLink Labs continuously works to ensure our work environment is comfortable and collaborative. We also aim to maintain an inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive professionally and live full lives outside of work.

NextLink Labs is seeking a versatile Senior Software Engineer to join our Custom Software Development consulting team. Our client portfolio spans a wide range of languages and frameworks, including Ruby on Rails, React, Node.js, Rust, Python, Java, and Go, and we're building a bench of strong engineers across that spectrum. The ideal candidate brings deep, production-proven expertise in at least one modern language or framework, a generalist's instincts, and the flexibility to move across stacks and problem domains as engagements demand.

This person will design and build systems for our clients, make sound architecture decisions, and contribute strategically to elevating our consulting practice. As part of your application, you'll tell us which languages and frameworks you're strongest in and which you're most interested in growing into, as that’ll help us match you to the right engagements.

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable web applications, APIs, and backend services for client engagements

• Work across a variety of languages and frameworks (e.g., Ruby on Rails, React, Node.js, Rust, Python, Java, Go) depending on client needs and your strengths

• Architect service-oriented, microservices, or event-driven solutions appropriate to each engagement

• Make pragmatic architecture decisions to identify and remediate technical debt in legacy applications

• Communicate directly with clients, leading demos, gathering feedback, and shaping solutions to their pain points

• Work in an agile team environment with regular stand-ups

• Engage in code reviews with teammates and uphold strong testing and debugging practices

• Contribute to internal best practices, documentation, and code templates

• Engage in thought leadership through blog posts, webinars, and other marketing materials

• 5+ years of experience building production web applications or backend services

• Deep proficiency in at least one modern language/framework (e.g., Ruby on Rails, React/Node.js, Rust, Python/Django, Java, Go, C#/.NET) with a track record of production ownership

• Experience designing and implementing APIs (REST, GraphQL, or gRPC) and integrating with third-party services

• Proficiency with relational databases (PostgreSQL or similar) and sound database design/optimization practices

• Strong testing and debugging discipline (e.g., RSpec/Minitest, Jest/RTL, or language-appropriate equivalents)

• Ability to work independently, take ownership, and scope features or full projects from client requirements

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills, able to build buy-in, facilitate compromise, and manage client expectations

• Proficient with Git and modern version control workflows

• Understanding of accessibility, security, and scalable application design principles

• Comfort moving between languages, frameworks, and problem domains as engagements demand

• Experience with a second major language/framework beyond your primary stack

• Familiarity with distributed systems patterns (microservices, event sourcing, CQRS, actor-based concurrency)

• DevOps tooling experience (AWS, Azure, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes)

• Experience with observability/monitoring tooling (OpenTelemetry, Datadog, Grafana, Sentry)

• Experience with event streaming (Kafka) or message-driven architectures

• Prior consulting or client-facing engineering experience

• Experience modernizing or migrating legacy applications

• Compensation commensurate with experience and stack specialization (typical range $120,000–$160,000 annually)

• We're a technical consulting firm that values clarity, ownership, and outcomes

• Competitive salary with bonus structure

• Remote-first culture, flexible work schedule, and autonomy to do your best work

• Healthcare (Medical, Dental, and Vision) and 401k

• Paid parental leave

• Responsibility and autonomy at a growing company

• The opportunity to build something big and exciting

At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or take over sponsorship for existing visas. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship.