Lead Backend Engineer

Harnham; Plano (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits package

Equity up to 15% of total base compensation

Annual bonus

Annual bonus

Job summary

A leading legal technology company is seeking a Lead Backend Engineer to drive the development of AI-enabled solutions. This role requires a blend of technical expertise in Python, AWS, and API design, along with team leadership. Candidates should have at least 5 years of experience and a proven track record in AI product development. The position offers a hybrid work schedule and a competitive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years commercial experience in backend engineering or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead or engineering manager.
• Proven 0→1 AI product development experience.
• Advanced proficiency in Python, FastAPI, and AWS
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL and vector databases (pgvector)
• Experience building, integrating, and deploying LLM-driven features (Anthropic/OpenAI)
• Deep understanding of API design for real-time interactions and enterprise integrations
• Hybrid schedule: 2 days/week onsite in Plano, TX, with remaining days remote
• Full benefits package: health, dental, vision, vacation, parental leave
• Equity up to 15% of total base compensation
• Annual bonus

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead for a backend engineering team.
• Deliver hands-on backend development using Python and FastAPI.
• Lead the AI platform development and deployment.
• Enterprise integration: develop APIs for seamless integration with client tools
• Platform reliability: own performance, security, and scalability of the platform

Skills

Backend Engineering

Python

AWS

FastAPI

PostgreSQL

API Design

AI Product Development

pgvector

LLMs

API design

Hybrid schedule

Tools

pgvector

LLMs (Anthropic, OpenAI)

OpenAI

Job description

Join a leading legal technology company as a Lead Backend Engineer, driving the development of high-impact AI-enabled enterprise solutions for the legal industry. This is a player-coach role, blending hands-on technical work with team leadership as you guide a group of ~5 engineers in building and integrating backend systems for next-generation legal products.

Role Overview

• Serve as technical lead for a backend engineering team, both architecting and implementing solutions in a fast-paced innovation lab setting.
• Deliver hands-on backend development using Python, FastAPI, AWS, PostgreSQL, pgvector (or comparable vector dbs), and LLMs (Anthropic, OpenAI).
• Lead the full lifecycle of AI platform development, orchestration, and deployment, with 0→1 product creation responsibilities.
• Design and iterate on secure, scalable APIs supporting real-time interactions, integrations, and enterprise workflows.
• Drive best practices in backend development, including high performance, extensibility, and robust data management for legal domain use cases.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical leadership: Coach, mentor, and review work for a team of backend engineers; set standards for architectural decisions and development velocity.
• Full-stack backend engineering: Write, test, and deploy code, architectural diagrams, and technical documentation supporting integration and product delivery.
• AI product innovation: Lead the technical design for new-to-market, AI-powered legal tech products (0→1 development), including data pipelines, orchestration, and API interactions.
• Enterprise integration: Develop backend services and APIs for seamless integration with legal market tools, third-party applications, and client-facing solutions.
• Platform reliability: Own operational excellence in platform performance, security, and scalability.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years commercial experience (outside of education) in backend engineering or related fields in high-scale environments.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead, team lead, or engineering manager, with direct responsibility for engineering deliverables and mentorship.
• Proven 0→1 AI product development experience, from concept/prototyping to deployment (ideally in legal, enterprise, or SaaS).
• Advanced proficiency in Python, FastAPI, and AWS infrastructure and services.
• Strong hands-on experience with PostgreSQL, pgvector (or similar vector databases), and designing data models for AI/ML applications.
• Experience building, integrating, and deploying LLM-driven features using platforms such as Anthropic or OpenAI.
• Deep understanding of API design for real-time interactions, backend orchestration, and multi-system integration.
• Hybrid schedule: 2 days/week onsite in Plano, TX, Twin Cities, MN, or NYC (remaining days remote).
• Full benefits package: health, dental, vision, vacation leave, parental leave.
• Equity up to 15% of total base compensation
• Annual bonus