Lead Backend Architect

Remote; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

Avive Solutions, Inc. in San Francisco is seeking an accomplished Backend Engineer to design and scale our Python/Django-based services. You will own APIs, data storage, and search components while collaborating across product and DevOps teams.

The role demands 10+ years of backend experience, strong PostgreSQL and Redis skills, and a track record with Elasticsearch, Celery, and Docker. You will shape robust, cost-efficient systems serving a growing AED platform.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS, engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of backend development with production systems.
• Expert Python and Django programming.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and APIs using Python and Django.
• Develop and optimize data storage with PostgreSQL and Redis.
• Implement Elasticsearch for search and analytics on large datasets.
• Architect distributed, high-throughput, low-latency systems.
• Build asynchronous tasks with Celery and Redis.
• Write tested, maintainable code with pytest.
• Maintain REST APIs with authentication and versioning.
• Monitor and optimize backend performance and cost.
• Collaborate with frontend, QA, DevOps, and product teams.
• Document designs, APIs, and runbooks.
• Perform other backend duties as assigned.

Skills

Python

Django

PostgreSQL

Redis

Elasticsearch

Celery

Docker

CI/CD

REST APIs

Testing (pytest)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Docker

Celery

CI/CD

pytest

Job description

About Avive:

Avive Solutions, Inc. (https://avive.life) is a growth stage Automated External Defibrillator (AED) company with a connected response system that is rapidly gaining market share. We are a mission driven team that is quite literally saving lives. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a leading cause of death in the United States, and we are on a mission to change that! We are a dynamic organization that builds elegant, creative solutions to solve complex problems. Ultimately, our mission is for all cardiac arrest victims to have rapid access to life-saving defibrillation.

Avive is taking a fresh approach to addressing this decades-old problem by innovating AED technology, coupled with a first-of-its-kind software platform solution to enable a quicker and more streamlined response to SCA emergencies. We believe that this unique combination of deploying advanced – yet still accessible – hardware, and software, has the potential to revolutionize out-of-hospital cardiac arrest response and massively impact SCA survival rates.

Check out this short video that shows a glimpse of how our team is working to re‑think cardiac arrest response and save lives! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p4zfOWo62E

Learn more about working at Avive: https://avive.life/careers/

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and APIs using Python and Django.
• Develop and optimize data storage solutions with PostgreSQL and Redis, ensuring reliability and performance.
• Implement Elasticsearch for search and analytics across large datasets.
• Architect and operate distributed systems that handle high‑throughput and low‑latency workloads.
• Build and operate asynchronous task queues and background workers using Celery and Redis.
• Write clean, maintainable, and unit-test–focused code with strong coverage using pytest.
• Build and maintain REST APIs, ensuring proper authentication, authorization, and versioning.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize backend services for scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Collaborate with frontend, QA, DevOps, and product teams to deliver end‑to‑end solutions.
• Document technical designs, APIs, and operational runbooks.
• Perform other backend software engineering duties as assigned and according to capability.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven experience developing and maintaining backend systems in production environments.
• Strong programming expertise in Python and Django with 10+ years of experience.
• Hands‑on experience with PostgreSQL, including schema design and query optimization.
• Experience with Redis for caching, message queues, or real‑time data.

Preferred Experience

• Practical use of Elasticsearch for indexing, search, and data analytics.
• Experience building and consuming APIs, including documentation and testing.
• Solid understanding of distributed systems design patterns.
• Strong focus on unit tests and automated testing using pytest or similar frameworks.
• Proficiency with Docker and containerized application deployments.
• Proven experience with Celery and managing background workers in production.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Agile/Scrum team experience.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of the company to provide equal employment opportunity to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, the company will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.

NOTE: This Job Description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties or functions to be performed by the incumbent. Personnel are required to follow any other job‑related instructions and to perform any other job‑related duties/functions requested by their supervisor.

Candidate may reside in US or Canada.

Anticipated salary range: $190,000 - $205,000