Lead Backend Software Engineer
Lead backend development for a mission-critical aviation AI platform. Own services, APIs, and data pipelines while providing technical leadership in a hybrid San Carlos role.
Backend Software Engineer
Backend engineer building scalable systems, APIs, and infrastructure powering image generation and editing in ChatGPT at global scale.
185k – 305kSan Francisco, CABackend EngineeringHybrid5+ YOE
About the role
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and operate backend systems that power image generation and image editing experiences in ChatGPT.
- Develop scalable APIs, services, and infrastructure that support multimodal AI workflows.
- Optimize reliability, latency, throughput, and cost across large-scale distributed systems.
- Partner with researchers to productionize new image generation capabilities and bring them to users quickly and safely.
- Collaborate closely with Android, iOS, web, and full-stack engineers to build seamless end-to-end product experiences.
- Drive technical architecture decisions across storage, serving, orchestration, and platform systems.
- Use data and experimentation to identify opportunities for improving user experience, performance, and system efficiency.
- Help shape engineering culture through technical leadership, mentorship, and operational excellence.
Requirements
- Experience building and operating large-scale backend or distributed systems.
- Strong proficiency in modern backend technologies and cloud-native architectures.
- Experience designing APIs, service-oriented architectures, and highly reliable production systems.
- Strong analytical skills and experience using data to inform technical and product decisions.
- Strong sense of ownership and comfort navigating ambiguity in fast-moving environments.
Skills
PythonGoJavaDistributed SystemsAPIsCloud InfrastructureScalabilityService-Oriented ArchitectureData AnalysisExperimentation
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