Senior Back End Engineer

Senior Back End Engineer

San Francisco (Remote)

About Us

At You.com, we are building the AI Search Infrastructure that powers modern AI systems. Our goal is to create the trusted knowledge layer that agents, applications, and enterprises rely on to retrieve real-time, accurate, and citation-backed information.

Our platform combines proprietary vertical indexes with LLM-optimized retrieval systems to power AI agents, applications, and enterprise workflows. We are solving hard problems across search, large language models, and large-scale infrastructure to make AI systems more reliable, transparent, and useful.

Our team includes engineers, researchers, product builders, and operators who care about solving meaningful problems and delivering real-world impact. Whether you are improving core infrastructure, shaping product experiences, or helping bring new AI capabilities to market, your work will help define how modern AI finds and uses knowledge.

About the Role

Are you passionate about building scalable architectures, improving platform performance, and contributing to cutting-edge technology? We're looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to design and develop the foundational systems and platforms that power our LLM-based generative AI assistant. In this role, you'll focus on creating robust, secure, and scalable backend systems, improving infrastructure, and contributing to open-source projects that drive innovation. Your work will directly impact the technology that millions of users rely on every day.

This is a remote position open to candidates based in the United States. We also have co-working spaces in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York.

Responsibilities

• Architect and Build Scalable Systems: Design, build, and maintain backend systems and infrastructure that support web-scale AI-driven products.
• Improve Platform Performance: Focus on scalability, reliability, and security to ensure our systems can handle millions of users seamlessly.
• Contribute to Open Source: Work on open-source projects and integrate cutting-edge technologies into our platform.
• Optimize Data Pipelines: Develop and maintain production databases (SQL and NoSQL) and ensure performant query patterns that scale effectively.
• Eliminate Technical Debt: Refactor and improve existing systems to enhance maintainability and scalability.
• Establish Best Practices: Help define architectural patterns and team practices that enable long-term growth and innovation.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work with infrastructure and DevOps teams to ensure robust deployment and monitoring strategies.

Qualifications

• Technical Expertise: Proven experience building and deploying mission-critical REST/RPC services with a focus on scalability and performance.
• Infrastructure Knowledge: Familiarity with Kubernetes (k8s), deployment pipelines, and debugging system-level issues.
• Database Proficiency: Expertise in designing and maintaining scalable SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Open Source Contributions: Experience contributing to or maintaining open-source projects is a plus.
• Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to tackle complex technical challenges and deliver elegant, maintainable solutions.
• Collaboration Skills: Strong communication and teamwork abilities to work effectively with cross-functional technical teams.

Our salary bands are structured based on a combination of geographic tiers and internal leveling. Compensation is determined by multiple factors assessed during the interview process, with the final offer reflecting these considerations.

Salary Band: $200,000 - $250,000 USD

Company Perks:

• Hubs in San Francisco and New York City offering regular in-person gatherings and co-working sessions
• Flexible PTO with U.S. holidays observed and a week shutdown in December to rest and recharge*
• A competitive health insurance plan covers 100% of the policyholder and 75% for dependents*
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave in the US*
• 401k program, 3% match - vested immediately!*
• $500 work-from-home stipend to be used up to a year of your start date*
• $600 technology stipend to support a portion of our hybrid/remote team's cell phone and internet expenses*
• $1,200 per year Health & Wellness Allowance to support your personal goals*
• The chance to collaborate with a team at the forefront of AI research

*Certain perks and benefits are limited to full-time employees only

You.com participates in E-Verify. We will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. (English/Spanish: E-Verify Participation / Right to Work ) We are also an inclusive, equitable, and accessible workplace. Please let us know if you require accommodation for any portion of the recruitment and hiring process.

Beware of recruiting scams: You.com will only contact you through official @ You.com email addresses and will never ask for payment or sensitive personal information during the hiring process.