Senior Backend Engineer

a16z-speedrun; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top-tier health benefits

Job summary

ZeroDrift in the United States is hiring an experienced backend engineer to build the systems that let AI agents and apps query ZeroDrift in real time to determine if a message is allowed. You will own integration points, frameworks, proxies, SDKs, and the backend that keeps every rule current.

This hands-on individual-contributor role offers ownership over architecture and a path to equity upside. The position is full-time, hybrid with three days in our New York City office and the rest remote.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building and running production backends at scale.
• Proficient in a modern backend language (Go, Python, Java, or Node).
• Experience with APIs, distributed systems, databases, queues, and caching.
• Comfortable with cloud, containers, and CI/CD.
• Prioritize latency, reliability, and clean code.

Responsibilities

• Build the layer that connects AI agents and developer frameworks to ZeroDrift: proxies, SDKs, and agent tooling.
• Own the policy backend: the connectors, the ingest of rule sources and restricted lists, and the engine that tracks when rules change.
• Build the controls that decide what each agent is allowed to do.
• Hit low latency and high reliability under enterprise load, since we sit in the path of every message.
• Hold a high bar for security and data protection on sensitive content.

Skills

Backend engineering

APIs & distributed systems

Cloud & CI/CD

Latency & reliability

Security & data protection

Tools

Go

Python

Java

Node.js

Databases

Queues

Caching

Job description

About ZeroDrift

ZeroDrift is building the AI-native enforcement infrastructure for enterprise communication. We are the first platform that enforces the rules before an AI message is ever sent, fixing violations in real time across every channel where AI speaks for the business. Everything goes out clean. Nothing dangerous comes in.

As AI starts to communicate on behalf of entire organizations, the gap between what compliance requires and what companies can actually enforce is widening fast. Every existing solution monitors after send, once the risk is already out the door. ZeroDrift enforces before send. Enforcement did not exist as a category. We created it.

We are backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other world-class VCs, and built by a team from Microsoft, Google, and Goldman Sachs, led by a repeat AI founder.

The role

You build the systems that let any app or AI agent ask ZeroDrift, in milliseconds, whether a message is allowed. You own how agents and developers connect to us, and the backend that keeps every rule current. This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role with real say over the architecture. You will be one of our first engineers, shaping the architecture of a new category, with the ownership and equity upside to match.

What you will own

• Build the layer that connects AI agents and developer frameworks to ZeroDrift: proxies, SDKs, and agent tooling
• Own the policy backend: the connectors, the ingest of rule sources and restricted lists, and the engine that tracks when rules change
• Build the controls that decide what each agent is allowed to do
• Hit low latency and high reliability under enterprise load, since we sit in the path of every message
• Hold a high bar for security and data protection on sensitive content

What you bring

• 5+ years building and running production backends at scale
• Strong in a modern backend language (for example Go, Python, Java, or Node)
• Solid with APIs, distributed systems, databases, queues, and caching
• Comfortable with cloud, containers, and CI/CD
• You care about latency, reliability, and clean code in equal measure

Bonus points

• Low-latency or real-time systems
• Built SDKs, proxies, or developer-facing infrastructure
• Worked with sensitive or regulated data

How we work

We are hyper-focused on speed of execution and on owning our work end to end. This is a full-time hybrid role: three days a week in our office at 4 World Trade Center in New York City, and the rest remote.

Benefits

• Top-tier medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus a 401(k).

ZeroDrift is an equal opportunity employer. You must be authorized to work in the United States.