Senior Backend Architect for AI-Driven Systems

Outsiders Fund; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Equity awards

Medical, dental & vision

Job summary

Gradial in Seattle is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend to own large, complex problems and build the backend foundations for AI-driven workflows. You will define architecture, make pragmatic decisions, and lead production-ready systems while elevating the engineering bar across the team.

The role emphasizes hands-on coding, architectural leadership, and close collaboration with product and design to deliver reliable, scalable solutions at enterprise scale.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Experience leading large, technically complex backend projects.
• Deep expertise in architecture and distributed systems.
• Ability to drive decisions with incomplete information.

Responsibilities

• Lead large technical projects from definition through production.
• Architect and build backend systems powering AI-driven workflows.
• Drive scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Turn vague problems into clear technical plans and execute.
• Own end-to-end system operation including testing and observability.

Skills

Backend systems

Distributed systems

Software architecture

Technical leadership

Communication

Tools

None

Job description

Gradial in Seattle is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend to own large, complex problems and build the backend foundations for AI-driven workflows. You will define architecture, make pragmatic decisions, and lead production-ready systems while elevating the engineering bar across the team.

The role emphasizes hands-on coding, architectural leadership, and close collaboration with product and design to deliver reliable, scalable solutions at enterprise scale.