Backend Engineer

Backend Engineer Location: San Francisco, CA (Onsite, 5–6 days/week) Role Overview Backend Engineer owning core API, data infrastructure, and production systems powering an AI memory platform. This is a high-ownership, founding-level backend role working directly with founders to build scalable, high-performance systems handling millions of interactions. Responsibilities Design and ship production-grade REST APIs including versioning, authentication, rate limiting, and documentation Build backend services in Python using modern frameworks such as FastAPI, Django, or Flask Model and manage data across relational databases (PostgreSQL) and graph databases (Neo4j or similar) Optimize system performance including query tuning, indexing, caching strategies, and latency reduction Debug and resolve production issues end-to-end using logs, metrics, and tracing Own infrastructure including containerization (Docker), cloud deployment (AWS), and Kubernetes environments Implement background jobs, queues, schedulers, and event-driven systems Instrument systems with observability tools, metrics, alerts, and tracing for reliability Requirements 5–8 years building backend systems and shipping APIs to production Strong Python fundamentals including async programming Experience with web frameworks such as FastAPI, Django, or Flask Strong SQL and data modeling experience with PostgreSQL or MySQL Experience working with graph databases or complex data systems Experience deploying and operating systems on AWS with Docker and Kubernetes Strong debugging and root-cause analysis skills Ability to work onsite in San Francisco