Remote Staff Backend Software Engineer

MAP SSG; United States; Remote; USD 200,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Remote-friendly

Job summary

MAP SSG is seeking a Staff Backend Software Engineer to own the platform's backend architecture on a fully remote US basis. You will work directly with engineering leadership to design scalable systems and APIs, and enable real-time collaboration across multi-tenant SaaS offerings.

The role emphasizes hands-on software craftsmanship, from 0-to-1 system building to setting engineering standards as the company scales. Strong ownership and independence are essential.

Qualifications

• 6–14 years of professional backend experience; exceptional candidates outside range considered.
• Experience architecting and building complex systems from 0 to 1.
• Strong API, data model, and database design capabilities.
• Hands-on with distributed systems, asynchronous processing, messaging, queues, or workflows.
• Experience at an early-stage startup or high-growth tech company.
• Cloud infrastructure and infrastructure-as-code experience.

Responsibilities

• Own backend architecture, tech direction, and implementation across the platform.
• Design scalable APIs, DB schemas, and data models for complex apps.
• Architect distributed systems with asynchronous workflows and data pipelines.
• Build infrastructure for real-time collaboration, multi-tenant SaaS, and versioning.
• Integrate AI and computer vision capabilities into production backends.
• Provision and manage cloud infra using IaC tools.
• Collaborate with product, frontend, and AI engineers to translate needs into solutions.
• Set engineering standards and shape the technical foundation as the company grows.

Skills

Backend architecture

Distributed systems

API design

Cloud infrastructure

Technical leadership

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science

Tools

Kafka

PostgreSQL

Temporal

AWS

Pulumi

TypeScript/Python/Go

Job description

Remote (US) | $200K–$280K Base + Equity

The Opportunity

An early-stage, venture-backed AI company is building a platform that transforms how physical environments are designed and managed. Its technology combines computer vision, spatial intelligence, and agentic AI to turn real-world spaces into interactive digital environments.

The company has approximately 20 employees and is already working with customers ranging from smaller businesses to Fortune 50 enterprises.

We're looking for a Staff Backend Software Engineer to take ownership of the platform's backend architecture. This is a highly autonomous, hands-on role working directly with engineering leadership, the CEO, and a small team of talented engineers.

You'll have the opportunity to architect and build foundational systems rather than simply maintain or extend an existing architecture.

What You'll Do

• Own backend architecture, technical direction, and implementation across the platform.
• Design scalable APIs, database schemas, and data models supporting complex applications.
• Architect distributed systems with asynchronous workflows, message queues, event-driven processes, and data pipelines.
• Build infrastructure supporting real-time collaboration, document versioning, and multi-tenant SaaS applications.
• Integrate AI and computer vision capabilities into reliable, production-grade backend services.
• Provision and manage cloud infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Collaborate directly with product, frontend, and AI engineers to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Establish engineering standards and help shape the technical foundation as the company grows.

What We're Looking For

• Approximately 6–14 years of professional backend engineering experience, with flexibility for exceptional candidates outside that range.
• Demonstrated experience personally architecting and building complex systems or products from 0 to 1.
• Strong experience designing APIs, database schemas, and backend data models.
• Hands-on experience with distributed systems, asynchronous processing, messaging, queues, or workflow orchestration.
• Experience at an early-stage startup or high-growth venture-backed technology company.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and infrastructure as code.
• Ability to operate independently, make significant technical decisions, and remain deeply hands-on.
• Strong communication skills and experience working directly with technical and business stakeholders.

Preferred Experience

• Real-time collaborative applications or multi-tenant SaaS platforms.
• Complex backend platforms involving data pipelines, workflow engines, or event-driven architectures.
• Prior founding engineer, technical lead, or staff-level architectural ownership.
• Experience building backend infrastructure for AI-enabled products.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or a related discipline.

Technology Environment

TypeScript, Python, Go, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Temporal, AWS, and Pulumi.

Experience with comparable technologies is welcome; expertise in every tool is not required.

Compensation & Location

• Equity: Competitive equity package
• Location: Fully remote within the United States
• Working hours: Meaningful overlap with US Eastern Time

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a company's core backend architecture at an early stage while working on genuinely challenging technical problems spanning distributed systems, real-time collaboration, multi-tenancy, computer vision, and agentic AI.

You'll have significant technical autonomy, direct access to company leadership, and an opportunity to shape how a production platform evolves as the business scales.