Backend Engineer II - AI-Driven, High-Throughput Systems

Yahoo Holdings Inc.; Baltimore (MD); Hybrid; USD 111,000 - 231,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work

Healthcare benefits

401k or retirement plan

Job summary

Yahoo Holdings Inc. is seeking an experienced backend engineer to join the AntiSpam and Delivery teams, building systems to detect spam and ensure reliable delivery of billions of messages daily.

You will work with minimal guidance, review code, design solutions, and contribute to a modernization effort toward cloud-native infrastructure and AI-enhanced workflows. The role emphasizes large-scale, high-availability backend development on Unix/Linux, with strong focus on performance, security, and

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science or related field, fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, OS, networking.
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools such as Claude, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or Codex with sound judgment on correctness, security, and maintainability.
• 3+ years of backend-focused software development experience in Java, Go, or C++ (primarily Java).
• Solid understanding of cloud computing concepts: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
• Machine learning knowledge with some hands-on AI coding experience.
• Experience with a public cloud (GCP or AWS).
• Experience with containers (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes), preferably on GCP.
• Experience designing and building high-performing, complex server applications on Unix/Linux.
• Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills, including performance tuning.
• A clear communicator who enjoys helping people and stays constructive under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Build and operate distributed systems for inbound protection, entity reputation, traffic shaping, and message delivery.
• Use AI-assisted development tools as part of daily workflow, validating and refining what they produce rather than accepting it blindly.
• Translate defined technical requirements into correct, readable, testable code, and deploy continuously to production.
• Troubleshoot software failures and tune performance across high-throughput services.
• Design and simplify existing components under minimal guidance.
• Review peers' code, give constructive feedback, and help with estimation.

Skills

Backend development

Cloud concepts

AI/machine learning basics

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science

Tools

Claude

GitHub Copilot

Cursor

Codex

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Unix/Linux

Job description

Yahoo Holdings Inc. is seeking an experienced backend engineer to join the AntiSpam and Delivery teams, building systems to detect spam and ensure reliable delivery of billions of messages daily.

You will work with minimal guidance, review code, design solutions, and contribute to a modernization effort toward cloud-native infrastructure and AI-enhanced workflows. The role emphasizes large-scale, high-availability backend development on Unix/Linux, with strong focus on performance, security, and