Sr. AI Backend & Data Engineer

About the role

Pendo is seeking a senior engineer to build and maintain AI-native predictive analytics systems that integrate directly into customer workflows. You will own the entire lifecycle of backend services and data pipelines, treating AI components as core runtime dependencies rather than secondary features.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design and deploy scalable data and ML pipelines that function as production decision-making layers.
• Ship code daily by decomposing complex tasks into small, safe increments using feature flags and canary releases.
• Use AI-assisted development tools to prototype, test, and accelerate engineering throughput.
• Manage end-to-end ownership of your systems, including CI/CD health, observability, cost, and operational monitoring.
• Make and document architectural decisions using lightweight ADRs to maintain development momentum.
• Collaborate with product, design, and GTM teams to align technical output with business goals.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience building production-grade backend and data systems in distributed cloud environments like AWS or GCP.
• Proven track record of integrating AI, LLM, or agent-based components into live production runtimes.
• Active, daily use of AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor or Copilot to increase engineering output.
• Proficiency in Java with Spring Boot, Python, or Go.
• Experience with data modeling, query optimization, and working with both relational and non-relational databases.
• Strong background in automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and system observability.
• Ability to break down large projects into incremental, shippable units.

Nice to have

• Experience with MLOps, including model serving, monitoring, and retraining pipelines.
• Familiarity with distributed data technologies such as Athena or Parquet.
• Experience writing and maintaining architectural decision records.

Skills & tools

• Java (Spring Boot), Python, Go
• AWS, GCP
• AI/LLM integration, Agentic AI
• CI/CD, Observability, Feature flags
• Relational and non-relational databases
• Parquet, Athena

Practical notes

Pendo is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates requiring reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process may contact accommodation@pendo.io. Compensation is determined by experience, qualifications, and internal equity.