Backend Software Engineer (Member of Technical Staff)

Role Overview

Join Perplexity AI as a Backend Software Engineer (Member of Technical Staff). You’ll build foundational backend systems that power core AI products, with emphasis on reliability, scalability, and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and operate systems that connect models, data, product surfaces, and infrastructure into a reliable large-scale platform.
• Build and maintain critical backend infrastructure, including:
  • Authentication and authorization systems
  • Real-time data flows
  • Service orchestration
• Ensure high standards for code quality, system design, and operational excellence.
• Take end-to-end ownership of what you build, from design through deployment and ongoing operation.

What You’ll Work On

• Backend teams such as Cloud Infrastructure, Storage Platform, and Backend Platform.

Requirements

• Strong backend fundamentals and experience building scalable distributed systems in production.
• Experience with large-scale data systems, streaming pipelines, or orchestration platforms.
• Deep hands-on experience with:
  • Cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
  • Databases (relational and NoSQL)
  • Caching systems
  • Observability tooling
• Proficiency in Python or similar backend languages (e.g., Go, Rust, Java) and ability to ramp up on new technologies.
• 4+ years of professional software engineering experience, shipping backend systems used at scale.
• Ability to thrive when requirements evolve quickly and to collaborate closely with product managers, AI researchers, and cross-functional teams.

Nice to Have

• Comfort with the performance/reliability/cost tradeoffs inherent in large-scale streaming and orchestration systems.