Senior Backend Engineer (TypeScript / Node.js) - AI Payments & Infrastructure SF Hybrid
My client is a Seed-funded startup (aiming for Series A this year), hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to help build the foundational infrastructure for a new kind of financial ecosystem - one where autonomous AI agents can seamlessly pay for services.
What You'll Be Doing:
- Own the design, implementation, and scaling of backend systems powering real-time payments and identity flows between digital agents and services.
- Help define core APIs that will serve both internal systems and external integrations.
- Work closely with founders and product leadership to scope requirements and make architectural decisions from scratch - 0 1 ownership expected.
- Contribute to everything from backend logic and data models to observability, deployment pipelines, and production monitoring.
- Develop resilient systems that prioritize throughput, latency, and type safety.
You Should Have:
- Deep experience in backend engineering, ideally with Node.js and TypeScript (this is not a role for frontend engineers picking up Node).
- A strong understanding of API design, including authentication (OAuth2, JWT), authorization (RBAC), and performance considerations.
- Experience working in small teams or startup environments, with a track record of delivering production-ready services with minimal oversight.
- Confidence in owning your work end-to-end - from technical design to testing, shipping, and maintenance.
- Familiarity with PostgreSQL, CI/CD workflows, and modern cloud environments (e.g., Render, AWS, GCP, etc.)
Bonus Points For:
- Exposure to agent-based systems, LLMs, or any work with AI/ML infrastructure
- Experience with event-driven architecture, time/space complexity optimization, or distributed systems
- Curiosity about the intersection of AI and programmable finance
- Prior contributions to developer platforms, SDKs, or internal tooling
The Offer
- Competitive salary based on level and experience (mid-to-senior range)
- Meaningful early-stage equity
- Hybrid working (3 days/week in a downtown SF office)
- Health coverage
- A tight-knit, low-ego engineering culture