Backend Engineer, Chanakya

Sarvam AI; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,000,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Sarvam AI, located in Bengaluru, is seeking a Backend Engineer to design and implement core system infrastructures. You will build backend systems for various applications including MCP servers and data ingestion pipelines, requiring strong Python skills and experience with production systems.

The ideal candidate will have 3-6 years of backend engineering experience. Join Sarvam AI, a team pushing the frontiers of AI with real population-scale impact.

Qualifications

• 3-6 years in backend engineering with production systems.
• Strong knowledge of Python, experience with Go or Rust is a plus.
• Proficiency in system design, APIs, and containerisation.

Responsibilities

• Design and build backend systems for various applications.
• Implement data ingestion and processing pipelines.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver projects.

Skills

Python (FastAPI, asyncio, Pydantic)

Go or Rust

System design proficiency

API design (RESTful, GraphQL)

Containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes)

Database experience (PostgreSQL, Redis)

LLM API integration

Tools

PostgreSQL

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Backend Engineers on this team are builders, not maintainers. You will design and implement the core system infrastructure that powers Sarvam's 'atoms': MCP servers, on-prem deployment tooling, document ingestion pipelines, agentic backends, and API layers. These systems run in classified, air‑gapped, and operationally constrained environments or in enterprise environments with their own security, compliance, and integration constraints.

The architecture decisions you make will be inherited by every deployment that follows. You will ship real systems, not prototypes and you will be accountable for how they behave in the field.

What You’ll Do

• Design and build backend systems for Sarvam's atoms: MCP servers, document ingestion pipelines, agentic frameworks, NL-to-action APIs, and on-prem deployment tooling.
• Build robust, well-designed API layers that connect Sarvam's AI stack to client-side frontends and operational systems.
• Implement data ingestion and processing pipelines for unstructured data: PDFs, audio transcripts, imagery metadata, and geospatial feeds.
• Build for constrained deployment environments: containerised, minimal-dependency, auditable systems that a deployment engineer can operate without you in the room.
• Write clean, well-tested, documented code that other engineers can extend and deployment teams can operate.
• Collaborate with frontend engineers, the data scientist, and MLOps to ship complete atoms end-to-end.
• Support Strategic Deployment Engineers with debugging, operational tooling, and field-level troubleshooting.

What We’re Looking For

• 3-6 years in backend engineering with production systems in continuous operation.
• Strong Python: FastAPI, asyncio, Pydantic production‑grade; Go or Rust is a strong plus.
• System design proficiency: distributed systems, job queues, async processing, caching, and failure handling.
• API design: RESTful and/or GraphQL; gRPC experience is a plus.
• Containerisation: Docker, Kubernetes or K3s; experience deploying in minimal‑dependency environments.
• Database experience: PostgreSQL, Redis, and vector databases (Qdrant, Chroma, Weaviate, or equivalent).
• Experience integrating with LLM APIs and building agentic pipelines LangChain, LlamaIndex, or direct API integration.

Bonus Points

• MCP protocol familiarity.
• Security‑hardened API design and on‑prem deployment experience.
• Comfort with air‑gapped network constraints.
• Experience with enterprise security and compliance requirements (SOC2, ISO 27001, or equivalent).

Note

We are looking for people who can own the outcomes described here, not people who match every line of this specification. If this problem excites you and you believe you can do this work, we want to hear from you.

Why Sarvam?

Sarvam is a fast-moving, high talent-density team building full‑stack AI for India, working on problems that push the frontiers of AI with real population‑scale impact.

Work alongside researchers, engineers, builders, and business leaders who move fast and hold each other to a very high bar.

High ownership and high impact, from day one.

Everything we do is AI‑first, from the way we build and ship to the way we think about problems.

You can work on problems that could change how an entire country learns, works, and communicates.

If you want to work on problems at the frontier of AI in India, Sarvam is the place to be.