Backend Engineer - AI

Bjak Sdn Bhd; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A forward-thinking tech company in Kuala Lumpur is seeking a backend engineer to design and build systems that power AI interactions. This role involves integrating cutting-edge models and ensuring system reliability under varied conditions. Candidates should have over 4 years of backend engineering experience, and proficiency in relevant programming languages such as Python, Node.js, or Go. If you thrive in a high-performance team and aim to innovate in the AI space, you will find this opportunity rewarding.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of backend engineering experience is required.
• Hands-on integration experience with AI models is essential.
• Strong proficiency in Python, Node.js, or Go is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend services for AI-powered applications.
• Integrate LLMs, vision, speech, and other models into products.
• Build orchestration pipelines and manage prompts and evaluations.

Skills

Backend engineering experience

AI model integration

Proficiency in Python

Designing REST/gRPC APIs

Understanding AI latency and cost

Job description

A1 is a self-funded AI group, operating in full stealth. We're building a new global consumer AI application where backend systems are not glue - they are the control plane that connects models, data, users, and product experiences.

This is a founding backend role. You will design and build the systems that orchestrate models, manage prompts and evaluation, and power every AI interaction users experience - under real-world constraints like latency, cost, failures, and scale.

Why This Role Matters

• You power every AI interaction users experience
• You shape how models are orchestrated, evaluated, and improved
• You directly affect cost, latency, and reliability
• You build real production AI infrastructure

What You'll Do

• Design and implement backend services for AI-powered apps
• Integrate LLMs, vision, speech, and other models
• Build orchestration pipelines (agents, tools, workflows)
• Implement prompt management and versioning
• Build evaluation, logging, and feedback systems
• Design scalable APIs for mobile and web clients
• Handle retries, caching, rate limits, and fallbacks
• Ensure security, privacy, and cost control

Requirements

• 4+ years backend engineering experience
• Hands-on AI model integration experience
• Strong proficiency in Python, Node.js, or Go
• Experience designing REST/gRPC APIs
• Understanding of AI latency and cost tradeoffs

Nice to Have

• Built AI systems used in production
• Experience with RAG, vector DBs, or agent frameworks
• Designed evaluation or monitoring systems

Our Team & Culture

We operate as a dense, senior, high-performance team. We value clarity, speed, craftsmanship, and relentless ownership. We behave like founders - we build, ship, iterate, and hold ourselves to a high technical bar.

If you value excellence, enjoy building real systems, and want to be part of a small team creating something globally impactful, you'll thrive here.

About A1

A1 is a self-funded, independent AI group, focused on building a new consumer AI product with global impact. We're assembling a small, elite team of ML and engineering builders who want to work on meaningful, high-impact problems.