Senior Backend Engineer: Data Architecture & Scale

Seesaw; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Seesaw seeks a senior backend engineer to own data-intensive production systems within a director-led Platform team. You will shape data models, persistence strategies, and tooling to support millions of educators, students, and families.

You will design scalable data contracts, evaluate NoSQL and relational stores, and partner with cross-functional engineers to deliver safe, incremental changes while maintaining security and reliability.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional backend engineering experience with ownership of complex data systems.
• Strong Python skills and AWS production services experience.
• Deep NoSQL and relational fundamentals, including DynamoDB design and indexing.
• Production experience with Elasticsearch or OpenSearch as a primary query path.
• Experience with schema evolution, large-scale data changes, and rollbacks.
• Ability to balance long-term architecture with incremental SaaS delivery.
• Strong independent delivery and clear communication in a director-led team.

Responsibilities

• Design and improve data models, access patterns, schemas, and data contracts for critical backend services.
• Evaluate data stores and indexing strategies for performance and operations.
• Build data evolution tooling with schema changes, backfills, reindexing, and safe rollback.
• Improve correctness, throughput, and observability of high-volume data workflows.
• Collaborate with application, infrastructure, and data engineers on data lifecycle and production readiness.
• Lead technical investigations, document tradeoffs, and support staged releases.

Skills

Python

AWS

Data modeling

NoSQL design

Relational design

Elasticsearch/OpenSearch

Production ownership

System evolution

Cross-team collab

Tools

DynamoDB

PostgreSQL

OpenSearch

S3

Job description

Seesaw seeks a senior backend engineer to own data-intensive production systems within a director-led Platform team. You will shape data models, persistence strategies, and tooling to support millions of educators, students, and families.

You will design scalable data contracts, evaluate NoSQL and relational stores, and partner with cross-functional engineers to deliver safe, incremental changes while maintaining security and reliability.