Senior Backend Engineer (Full-Stack Capable)

Orkes; California (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health coverage

Flexible PTO

Support for personal development

Job summary

Orkes, based in the Santa Clara, CA area, seeks a Senior Backend Engineer to own the architecture of a multi-cloud control plane and orchestration layers for AI agent workflows.

You will design scalable, production-ready infrastructure, lead cross-team initiatives, and ensure robust observability, on-call readiness, and reliability while collaborating with Cloud & Platform Engineering.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software development experience.
• Proficiency in at least one OO language (e.g., Java, Go, C++).
• Experience leading reviews in a large codebase.
• Deep experience with one or more cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Owns on-call, observability, SLOs, and blast-radius containment.
• Ships React/TS frontends when needed.
• Distributed-systems architect with scale tradeoffs.
• AI-coding experience – guiding AI decisions over automated calls.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the multi-cloud control plane and critical orchestration layers.
• Build mission-critical infrastructure enabling scalable AI agent workflows.
• Collaborate across teams to deliver production-ready platforms and guardrails.

Skills

7+ years experience

Object Oriented programming

Leadership in code reviews

Cloud platform experience

On-call ownership & observability

React/TypeScript familiarity

Distributed systems architect

AI-coding experience

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Netflix Conductor

Temporal

Job description

Position is IN OFFICE at our Santa Clara, CA (San Francisco Bay Area) office

About Us

Orkes is the operating system for AI agents and workflows, providing the battle-tested infrastructure required to move AI from simple conversation to real-world action. Built on the open-source Conductor engine, our platform empowers developers to orchestrate complex business processes at scale, handling billions of workflows without worrying about failure or visibility. We enable enterprises to seamlessly bridge the gap between LLM-driven reasoning and deterministic execution, creating reliable pathways for AI to drive actual business value.

The Opportunity

As a Senior Backend Engineer at Orkes, you will work at the frontier of agentic workflow development, building the platform that defines how enterprises scale AI agent interactions. You will own the architecture of our multi-cloud control plane, designing critical guardrails and orchestration layers that make complex agentic workflows production-ready. This is a unique opportunity to build mission-critical infrastructure that transforms experimental AI prototypes into scalable business engines.

Must-haves

• 7+ years of experience
• Deep Object Oriented language experience (at least one; eg Java, Go, C++)
• Sets patterns and leads reviews in a large codebase
• Depth in one of AWS/Azure/GCP Cloud Platforms
• Drives ambiguous, cross-team initiatives from problem to measured outcome
• Owns operational architecture — on-call, observability, SLOs, blast-radius containment
• Ships full-stack vertical slices in React/TS when needed
• Distributed-systems architect — has designed systems with real consistency/availability tradeoffs at scale
• AI-coding experience - look for those who prescribe/tell AI exactly what to do vs those who ask AI to make judgment calls and decisions

Nice-to-haves:

all-three-clouds hands-on; Java/Spring Boot preferred; Netflix Conductor/Temporal; Go; multi-tenant control-plane at scale; chaos/perf engineering. Experience with building for portability vs. cloud-native calls

More Details

We offer a competitive total compensation package, featuring a base salary starting at $180,000–$240,000 depending on experience and leveling, plus generous equity. When determining compensation, a number of factors will be considered: skills, experience, job scope, location, and competitive compensation market data.

• Status: Full-Time
• Type: In-Office
• Location: San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara, CA)
• Department: Cloud & Platform Engineering
• Reports to: Head of Engineering

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, and vision
• Flexible PTO
• Support for personal development

At Orkes, we are committed to building a team that reflects a rich tapestry of perspectives, identities, and professional experiences. We believe that diversity is not just a checkbox, but a driving force behind innovation, creativity, and success. By embracing a variety of backgrounds, we cultivate an inclusive environment where every team member feels valued and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work.

Join us at Orkes and be a part of a team where your unique perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. Together we are shaping the future technology by leveraging the strength that comes from embracing diversity in all its forms. Your Journey with us is an opportunity to contribute to something greater and make a lasting impact.