Senior AI Backend Platform Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Senior AI Backend Platform Engineer
Location: St. Louis, MO (On-site)
Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099)

About the Opportunity

ZipStaff is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to design, build, and support the backend services that power enterprise AI and knowledge management platforms for a major energy and utilities organization.

You will primarily work on a proprietary Content Management System (CMS) built with Node.js and TypeScript, while also contributing to Python-based services that support AI capabilities. This role focuses on scalable APIs, cloud-native services, and the systems that enable secure access to enterprise knowledge.

What You’ll Do:

• Design, build, deploy, monitor, and support production backend services.
• Develop and maintain REST APIs for content management, retrieval, and integrations.
• Enhance a CMS platform built with Node.js and TypeScript.
• Contribute to Python-based services supporting AI applications.
• Build reusable services and patterns that improve scalability and developer productivity.
• Review code and promote engineering best practices.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and improve production systems.
• Partner with AI engineers, architects, and product teams to deliver secure, reliable solutions.
• Create and maintain technical documentation and API specifications.

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience with a proven track record of shipping enterprise-grade production software.
• Strong hands-on experience with Node.js and TypeScript.
• Experience designing and supporting REST APIs and backend services.
• Experience with AWS in production environments.
• Working knowledge of Python and willingness to contribute when needed.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, system design, and distributed systems.
• Experience with Git, code reviews, and modern development practices.
• Understanding of CI/CD and automated deployment pipelines.
• Experience implementing logging, monitoring, and observability solutions.
• Knowledge of secure coding practices, API security, authentication, and OWASP fundamentals.
• Experience working within Agile development teams.
• Ability to work on-site in St. Louis, MO.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with content management, document processing, or knowledge management platforms.
• Experience supporting RAG or AI-enabled applications.
• Experience with AWS services such as Lambda, ECS, SQS, and S3.
• Experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code.
• Experience with OpenTelemetry, Grafana, or similar observability platforms.
• Experience designing event-driven architectures.
• Familiarity with OAuth, IAM, and modern authentication patterns.
• Experience working in highly regulated or security-conscious environments.
• AWS certifications.

About ZipStaff

ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches and long-term success.

To apply , please submit your resume highlighting your Node.js/TypeScript backend experience, production AWS work, and any AI/knowledge platform background.