Founding Backend Software Engineer - VC Backed Startups (Senior/Staff)

SignalFire; United States; On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative firm is connecting talented Backend Engineers with high-growth startups looking for founding team members. This opportunity allows you to shape the future of technology by designing and building scalable backend systems, developing high-performance APIs, and collaborating with startup founders. Join a network that gives you visibility into exclusive early-stage opportunities and be part of a dynamic ecosystem where your contributions will have a significant impact. If you are excited about backend architecture and want to work directly with founders, this is your chance to make a difference in the tech landscape.

Qualifications

• Looking for engineers passionate about backend architecture and scalable systems.
• Experience in cloud infrastructure and containerization tools is essential.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain backend systems focusing on scalability and performance.
• Develop high-performance APIs and optimize databases for reliability.

Skills

Backend Architecture

Scalable Distributed Systems

API Development

Microservices

Cloud Infrastructure

Database Management

Data Modeling

DevOps Best Practices

Collaboration with Founders

Security and Cost Efficiency

Education

3+ years experience as a backend engineer

Tools

Node.js

Django

Flask

Ruby on Rails

FastAPI

Spring Boot

PostgreSQL

MySQL

MongoDB

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Join SignalFire’s Talent Network for Founding Back-end Software Engineer Roles at VC-Backed Startups

At SignalFire, we partner with top early-stage startups that are shaping the future of technology. Our portfolio spans 200+ innovative companies across AI, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS.

We’re looking to connect with exceptional Backend Engineers who are excited about joining high-growth startups as founding team members. By joining SignalFire’s Talent Network, your profile will be shared with our portfolio companies, giving you visibility into exclusive early-stage opportunities that may not be publicly listed.

This is not an application for a specific job. Instead, this is a way to get on the radar of VC-backed startups that are actively hiring AI/ML talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to [e-mail].

Who Should Join?

We’re looking for engineers who are:

• Passionate about backend architecture and scalable distributed systems
• Excited about joining early-stage startups and working directly with founders
• Interested in building APIs, microservices, and cloud infrastructure

Typical Roles & Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend systems with a focus on scalability and performance

• Develop high-performance APIs, microservices, and cloud-based architectures

• Optimize databases and data pipelines for reliability and efficiency

• Collaborate with founders to define technical strategy and align it with business goals

• Ensure backend infrastructure is secure, fault-tolerant, and cost-efficient

• Establish best practices for software development, DevOps, and infrastructure management

Common Qualifications

While each startup has its own hiring criteria, many founding backend engineering roles in our network look for:

• 3+ years of experience as a backend engineer, with a proven track record of shipping production systems

• Expertise in backend frameworks (Node.js, Django, Flask, Ruby on Rails, FastAPI, Spring Boot)

• Strong understanding of databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis) and data modeling

• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Proficiency in backend programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, Node.js, or Ruby

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code tools

• Experience in early-stage startups or lean teams is a plus

Technologies You Might Work With:

• Languages & Frameworks: Python, Golang, Java, JavaScript (Node.js), Ruby, Django, Flask, FastAPI, Ruby on Rails, Spring Boot

• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis

• Cloud & DevOps: AWS (Lambda, EC2, S3, RDS), GCP (Cloud Run, Firestore), Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub Actions

• Other Tools: REST APIs, GraphQL, WebSockets, Kafka, RabbitMQ, Elasticsearch

What Happens Next?

1. Submit your application to join SignalFire’s Talent Ecosystem.

2. We review applications on an ongoing basis to identify strong candidates.

3. If there’s a match, a SignalFire talent partner or a leader from one of our startups may reach out directly.

4. No match yet? We’ll keep your profile on file for future backend engineering roles in our portfolio.