Backend Software Engineer

Backend Software Engineer who can design, build, and operate scalable backend systems in production, with strong Python API development, cloud deployment on AWS, and hands-on experience building GenAI applications (RAG, prompt engineering, evaluation), in a fast-paced startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend systems in a production environment (service architecture, APIs, data access, reliability)
• Build APIs from the ground up using modern Python frameworks (FastAPI, Django or equivalent) with clean patterns and strong testing
• Collaborate closely with product managers, medical writers, and customer success to translate ambiguous requirements into shipped features
• Build and improve GenAI capabilities (RAG pipelines, prompt engineering, evaluation frameworks, data pipelines) to support product workflows
• Implement operational best practices (logging, metrics, alerting, runbooks) and support incident response and rapid debugging
• Deploy and scale containerized applications in cloud environments (AWS preferred), including CI/CD pipelines and safe release practices
• Optimize performance and cost (latency, throughput, caching, batching) while maintaining correctness and security
• Contribute to platform and codebase quality (reviews, refactoring, documentation) and move quickly with high ownership
• Work effectively in a high-intensity startup cadence and iterate rapidly based on customer feedback
• Support on-site/hybrid collaboration in San Francisco (4-5 days/week, Mon-Sat) when required by the team

Required Skills

• 3+ years of US-based full-time work experience physically in the US (remote-from-abroad for a US company does NOT count)
• 3+ years backend software engineering experience with Python and modern web frameworks (FastAPI/Django)
• Proven experience building production APIs from scratch (auth, routing, error handling, versioning, data models)
• Hands-on experience with GenAI applications: complex prompt engineering, RAG, data pipelines, and evaluation frameworks
• Experience deploying and scaling containerized applications in cloud environments (AWS preferred) with CI/CD ownership
• Strong problem-solving ability for ambiguous requirements and fast execution with minimal oversight
• Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally with non-engineering stakeholders

Preferred Skills

• Infrastructure-as-Code experience (Terraform or Pulumi)
• Secure coding practices and experience in regulated contexts (fintech, life sciences) is a plus
• Frontend experience with React is a plus
• Familiarity with life sciences regulatory workflows is a plus
• Visa transfer eligible (no sponsorship)