Senior Backend Engineer - Data Systems & Architecture

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

Own critical data architecture decisions in a dedicated, director-led engineering team shaping Seesaw's technology foundation.

ABOUT SEESAW

Seesaw helps elementary educators deliver joyful, inclusive learning experiences through interactive instruction, digital portfolios, and connections between teachers, students, and families. Our mission is to provide every elementary student with joyful and connected learning experiences that lay the foundation for success in life.

YOUR TEAM

You will join a small, dedicated group of senior engineers assembled specifically for one of Seesaw's most critical technology initiatives. This is not a business-as-usual maintenance assignment: the team has a focused mandate to make consequential improvements to the foundations of our production platform. The group reports directly to our Director of Platforms, who will serve as the team's engineering manager and lead the work day to day. Working closely with experienced Core Platform engineers, you'll have meaningful technical ownership, direct access to engineering leadership, and the opportunity to shape systems that support millions of educators, students, and families. Our emphasis is on thoughtful architecture, hands‑on execution, and incremental delivery without compromising security or reliability.

YOUR ROLE

We're looking for a senior backend engineer with exceptional data modeling instincts and experience evolving data-intensive production software. You'll assess data access patterns and persistence tradeoffs, design maintainable solutions, and deliver carefully validated changes. This is a hands‑on role for someone who enjoys both deep technical design and taking complex work safely into production.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and improve data models, access patterns, schemas, and data contracts for critical backend services.
• Evaluate data store approaches, including NoSQL, search, and relational options, in the context of application needs, performance, and operational complexity.
• Build reliable data evolution tooling, including schema changes, backfills, reindexing, reconciliation, validation, and safe rollback where appropriate.
• Improve correctness, consistency, throughput, and observability of high-volume data workflows, including multi-region replication and search index synchronization.
• Partner with application, infrastructure, and data engineers on data lifecycle, data classification, resilience, backup/restore, and production readiness.
• Lead technical investigations, document tradeoffs, write production code, and support staged releases.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 8+ years of professional backend engineering experience with deep ownership of complex production data systems; equivalent demonstrated experience considered.
• Strong Python skills and experience developing production services on AWS or a comparable cloud platform.
• Strong NoSQL and relational fundamentals, including DynamoDB access-pattern design, relational schema design, indexing, transactions, and query optimization.
• Production experience with Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, or a comparable search system used as a primary application query path.
• Hands‑on experience with schema evolution, large‑scale data changes, automated verification, and operational rollbacks.
• Ability to balance long‑term architectural quality with incremental delivery in a live SaaS system.
• Strong independent delivery, clear communication, and comfort owning consequential work in a small, director‑led engineering team.

NICE TO HAVE

• Hands‑on experience with DynamoDB global tables, DynamoDB Streams, or comparable multi‑region replication.
• Experience with CDC, event‑driven processing, high‑throughput applications, or online data migrations.
• Experience optimizing data infrastructure reliability, performance, or cloud cost.
• Experience with large‑scale object storage (S3) lifecycle, reference tracking, or bulk copy/replication of binary assets.
• Experience with PostgreSQL or other relational production data stores.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Critical data workflows are easier to understand and operate; important architectural decisions are supported by evidence; and substantial production changes, including moving data between environments, are shipped safely with measurable correctness and rollback safeguards.

CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

This is a senior, hands‑on individual‑contributor contract opportunity with a dedicated team led by the Director of Platforms. Engagement duration, location/working arrangement, and commercial terms will be discussed during recruiting.

A note on language:

Our team collaborates daily with US-based colleagues in English, so please submit your resume and application materials in English. We’re unable to review applications submitted in other languages.

Seesaw values diverse perspectives and welcomes qualified candidates from all backgrounds. We aim to build inclusive teams that reflect the educators, students, and families we serve.

Our company participates in E-Verify.