Founding Backend Engineer — Equity & On-Site Auburn WA

NextStep; Auburn (WA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

NextStep is hiring its founding backend engineer to own the core platform that runs real courses for schools. You will design the data layer, multi-tenant architecture with physical data isolation, and the systems behind tutor and grading.

This is a full-time, on-site role at our Auburn, WA office, equity-forward early hire. You will ship early, set engineering patterns, and work directly with the founders on architecture and product.

Qualifications

• Strong backend fundamentals and production experience with Postgres.
• Comfort designing multi-tenant systems with data isolation and security.
• Experience running services on Cloudflare or ability to get there quickly.
• You write code other people can read, extend, and trust.
• High agency: scope vague problems, produce results.
• Able to work on-site in Auburn, WA, at the pace of an early-stage company.

Responsibilities

• Own the data layer: Postgres schema design, migrations, performance, correctness under real course load.
• Build and harden the multi-tenant architecture with isolated databases per school.
• Run most of the platform on Cloudflare: Workers, storage, edge, and deployment/reliability story.
• Build the systems behind the tutor and grading: inference orchestration, evaluation, latency/cost control.
• Set the engineering bar; early-stage patterns you choose will become company-wide.

Skills

Backend fundamentals

Postgres

Multi-tenant design

Readable code

Cloudflare experience

Startup mindset

Tools

Cloudflare

Job description

NextStep is hiring its founding backend engineer to own the core platform that runs real courses for schools. You will design the data layer, multi-tenant architecture with physical data isolation, and the systems behind tutor and grading.

This is a full-time, on-site role at our Auburn, WA office, equity-forward early hire. You will ship early, set engineering patterns, and work directly with the founders on architecture and product.