Backend Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 8, 2026. First seen by Alion on Mar 23, 2026.
Job Overview
Airbase builds the software platform for radio frequency spectrum licensing, coordination, and intelligence. Backed by a16z, we are a fast-moving, dual-use startup transforming wireless communication from a static, analog bottleneck into a dynamic, software-defined advantage.
Today, the world’s most advanced hardware-from satellite mega-constellations to Army UAS swarms and Electronic Warfare systems-is grounded by 20th-century paperwork. Spectrum coordination relies on fragmented databases, missing systems of record, and decades of static PDFs. Airbase is fixing this. We’ve built novel AI pipelines to digitize this analog bureaucracy and translate it into a software-defined, machine-readable data layer. We are transforming the spectrum from a static bottleneck into a dynamic advantage, delivering machine-speed tactical deconfliction for the military and automated licensing for commercial innovators.
What you’ll do:
Architect core application logic and APIs - Design clean, extensible interfaces that encapsulate complex business logic rand maintain high-throughput performance.
Build robust authentication and service orchestration - Implement secure identity management and ensure resilient communication across distributed services to maintain system integrity under heavy load.
Optimize for performance and system health - Leverage a deep understanding of latency, throughput, and resource utilization to build highly responsive applications for high-stakes environments.
Integrate and modernize disparate systems - Reconcile fragmented schemas and normalize inconsistent data formats from legacy sources into a coherent, high-performance application layer.
You should have:
Strong Python Experience - Deep proficiency in Python for backend development, including experience with asynchronous programming and understanding of web framework internals.
Expertise in Event-Driven Architectures (EDA) - Experience building scalable, decoupled systems using Kafka or similar message brokers.
Cloud Infrastructure - Familiarity with container orchestration (Kubernetes) and cloud-native design patterns.
Nice to Haves:
Experience with Rust - Practical knowledge of building memory-safe, high-performance services, with an emphasis on safe concurrency and low-latency execution.
Things you’ll say in your first month:
“Woah, that software is from the 20th century”
“Hold on, these agencies use completely different units here? And this all happens over email?”
“This spreadsheet maintained by a guy named Mike is the entire system of record?”
Benefits & Perks
Competitive salary, with opportunities for growth, and equity in an early stage startup.
Comprehensive health insurance plans & 401k.
Regular team-building events and company retreats.
Airbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.