Senior Backend Engineer, Distributed Systems & AI
Overview
Own the core data infrastructure for an AI-driven logistics platform handling $10T in trade workflows. Design and scale distributed systems that ingest, process, and serve real-time logistics data. Collaborate directly with founders on technical direction while building AI search and pipelines. This role offers zero-to-one ownership with high autonomy and direct impact.
What You'll Do6
- 1Architect and scale distributed backend systems with retries, circuit breakers, and degradation strategies for graceful failure.
- 2Own database design and reliability, including schema design, indexing, and query optimization on PostgreSQL.
- 3Build AI search infrastructure for real-time logistics lookup using Elasticsearch and pgvector.
- 4Define service boundaries and set backend engineering standards for the team.
- 5Partner with founders on roadmap and technical direction for backend systems.
- 6Hire and mentor backend engineers as the team grows.
Requirements6
- 13-6 years of professional backend engineering experience.
- 2Strong distributed-systems background with queues, pipelines, and observability.
- 3Hands-on database ownership, especially PostgreSQL schema design, indexing, and query optimization.
- 4Proven track record of shipping backend systems end-to-end with minimal supervision.
- 5Real startup experience at a company of 10+ people, not exclusively big-tech backgrounds.
- 6Based in San Francisco or willing to relocate; fully in-person role.
Salary Insight
$210 - $285k per year
Location
Required Skills
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