About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join a small, fast-moving team building an AI-powered SaaS platform from the ground up. This is a founding engineering role. You will work directly with the product owner from detailed written specifications and own a critical layer of the backend system.

This is a full-time position.

What You Will Be Doing

• Designing and building core backend services in Python and FastAPI
• Designing and implementing a modular, extensible architecture that supports multiple third-party integrations
• Building and maintaining a multi-tenant PostgreSQL schema designed for enterprise scale
• Implementing async processing pipelines using AWS SQS and AWS EventBridge
• Integrating with identity and access management systems for enterprise SSO and role-based access control
• Writing clean, well-documented code from detailed written specifications
• Submitting daily written progress updates

Must-Have Skills

• Python - 4+ years in production systems
• FastAPI or equivalent async Python framework in production
• PostgreSQL - multi-tenant schema design, indexing, and query optimization
• Designing modular, extensible backend architectures with clear separation of concerns
• Async messaging systems - AWS SQS, RabbitMQ, or equivalent in production
• AWS - EC2, RDS, S3, API Gateway at a working level
• Experience integrating backend systems with third-party APIs and external services
• Strong written English communication

Nice to Have

• Experience with event-driven architecture and AWS EventBridge
• Prior work on multi-tenant SaaS platforms at production scale
• Familiarity with Keycloak or similar enterprise identity providers
• Experience designing plugin or integration framework architectures
• Background in AI, ML, or speech/audio processing platforms

Non-Negotiables

• Senior level only. Mid-level candidates will not be considered.
• Production systems only. Your portfolio must show systems that handled real users and real load.
• You must be comfortable working independently from written specifications without daily verbal guidance.
• Daily written progress updates are required. Verbal-first communicators are not the right fit.
• IP assignment agreement and NDA must be signed before engagement begins.
• You will not communicate directly with other developers. All coordination goes through the product owner.

Job Type: Full-time

Application Question(s):

• A brief description of the most complex backend system you have built - what the architecture looked like and what decisions you made
• Your GitHub profile or a production code sample in Python
• Your expected monthly rate and availability

Work Location: Remote