Founding Backend Engineer

About the role

This role defines production foundations for an AI video infrastructure startup as one of three early engineering hires. The work centers on reliability, scalability, and user predictability while video generation workflows scale.

Software engineers turn product ideas into working code. Engineers work in small teams, review each other's work, and ship in small batches. Most teams follow agile practices such as sprints and daily standups. Engineers also write tests, fix bugs, and improve performance. The field values clear communication as much as technical skill. Engineers spend part of every week on planning, code review, and debugging, not just writing new code. The ability to explain a technical decision in plain words separates strong engineers from the rest.

Key facts

What you'll do

Production systems for job execution, queueing, failure recovery, and observability become more reliable and scalable as usage grows. Cross-team partnership connects product requirements with technical systems.

Requirements

Experience operating production infrastructure or high-throughput backend systems is required. Strong debugging ability across services, networking, storage, and cloud environments must be demonstrated. Familiarity with queues, object storage, databases, observability tooling, deployment automation, and cost/performance tradeoffs is required. Ownership of ambiguous reliability problems is accepted even without a clear root cause. Practical judgment guides when to automate, simplify, or build the smallest solution. AI tools are used to move faster while personal judgment defines problems and drives solutions. Willingness to work on-site in San Francisco, CA is mandatory.

Practical notes

The role is fully on-site in San Francisco and requires a degree as stated in the listing. The engagement type is contract, and the team consists of three founding engineers. Typical interview steps

Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.

Good to know

Infrastructure reliability work connects directly to video generation and deployment automation. Teams rely on queues, object storage, databases, and observability tooling for core operations. Cost and performance tradeoffs are constant considerations in cloud environments. AI assisted development tools support faster iteration while maintaining judgment. Ownership culture emphasizes outcomes beyond assigned tasks.

Questions to ask

Good questions to ask the employer in the interview: what does success look like in the first six months, how is the team structured, what is the current biggest challenge, and how are decisions made. Asking about growth paths and the review process is also well received. Employers expect questions, and good ones show preparation.

Career growth

Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.

About the company

A New York based startup supported by top-tier venture investors builds enterprise software that empowers global brands to monitor and optimize advertising budgets of $1 million+ annually. Rapid expansion has prompted the formation of a first-generation go-to-market team tasked with accelerating revenue growth.