Backend Engineer (+ Equity) at LlamaIndex

Jack & Jill; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

LlamaIndex is seeking a Backend Engineer in San Francisco to own the backend lifecycle for tools powering AI agentic workflows at scale. You will design robust Python APIs and scale Kubernetes-based infrastructure handling millions of documents for a global developer community.

Join a high-autonomy Series A team, shipping end-to-end features from service design to CI/CD automation, and contributing to core infrastructure powering LlamaCloud and LlamaParse.

Qualifications

• 4 years of production experience with Python and modern backend stacks.
• Deep expertise in Kubernetes, including deployments, scaling, and debugging.
• Proven track record of shipping independently in fast-paced startups.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain high-performance Python-based APIs (REST, GraphQL, or gRPC).
• Architect and manage Kubernetes deployments across AWS/GCP, ensuring scalability and reliability.
• Collaborate with a lean engineering team to ship end-to-end features, from service architecture to CI/CD automation.

Skills

Autonomy

Architecture decisions

Tools

Python

Kubernetes

REST

GraphQL

gRPC

Job description

This is a job that Jill, our AI Recruiter, is recruiting for on behalf of one of our customers. She will pick the best candidates from Jack’s network.

The next step is to speak to Jack.

Job Title Backend Engineer

Salary Not Disclosed Equity

Company Description LlamaIndex is a Series A startup building the essential document infrastructure layer for the next generation of AI applications, supporting over 25 million monthly downloads on its open-source library.

Job Description Join a high-caliber team at LlamaIndex building core services like LlamaCloud and LlamaParse. You will own the backend lifecycle for tools powering AI agentic workflows at scale. This role focuses on designing robust APIs and scaling Kubernetes-based infrastructure to handle millions of documents for a massive global developer community.

Location San Francisco, USA

Why this role is remarkable

• Scale massive impact with over 25 million monthly downloads on the open-source library, reaching the heart of the global AI developer ecosystem.
• Join a small, high-autonomy Series A team where you shape architectural decisions for critical AI infrastructure rather than just executing pre-defined tickets.
• Work at the cutting edge of AI agentic workflows, building the document processing layer that powers the world’s most advanced LLM applications.

What You Will Do

• Design, develop, and maintain high-performance Python-based APIs (REST, GraphQL, or gRPC) that serve as the foundation for LlamaCloud and LlamaParse.
• Architect and manage Kubernetes-based deployments across AWS/GCP, ensuring the scalability and reliability of systems processing millions of documents.
• Collaborate with a lean engineering team to ship end-to-end features, from service architecture to CI/CD automation via GitHub Actions.

The ideal candidate

• Has 4 years of production experience in Python, demonstrating engineering rigor from top-tier tech firms combined with the velocity of early-stage startups.
• Possesses deep expertise in Kubernetes, including deploying, scaling, and debugging complex containerized environments in production settings.
• Demonstrates a proven track record of shipping independently and thriving in fast-paced environments without the need for heavy management process or overhead.