SDE II - Backend & Distributed Systems

This is the first application-stack hire for our new satellite imagery product. You will own the application layer end-to-end starting from a blank slate. You'll define the high-level architecture, make the key technology decisions, build the APIs and web interfaces, and grow into leading a small team as the product scales.

Responsibilities:

• Design and build high-performance backend services and distributed systems that power our satellite imagery platform.
• Take end-to-end ownership of the application stack from high-level and low-level design through development, deployment, and operations.
• Make architectural decisions such as database and framework selection, backed by clear data-driven reasoning.
• Build and operate microservices at scale, optimizing for latency, throughput, and cost-efficiency.
• Develop APIs and, in the early phase, front-end interfaces before a dedicated front-end engineer joins.
• Collaborate with AI-stack and data-stack engineers when data or API integration is required.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers, growing into a team lead role as the product expands.

Requirements:

• 4+ years of professional backend software engineering experience.
• Strong proficiency in asynchronous Python and FastAPI.
• Deep understanding of distributed systems concepts: consensus, replication, partitioning, CAP theorem, and eventual consistency.
• Hands-on experience building and operating microservices at scale.
• Experience with MongoDB and cloud-native technologies (GCP or AWS, Docker, and Kubernetes).
• Solid grasp of data structures, algorithms, and system design.
• Strong ownership mindset and the ability to work independently from day one.

Good-to-Have:

• Experience with React for building front-end interfaces.
• Familiarity with Terraform and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience mentoring or leading small engineering teams.
• Background in a product-focused engineering environment.