Senior Software Engineer

OuterSignal; New York (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Startup equity

Direct impact on customers

Collaborative engineering culture

Job summary

OuterSignal is hiring a Senior Backend Engineer in New York to architect and own services that process millions of orders across APIs and ML pipelines. You will build queue-based microservices with Redis, Node.js, TS, Postgres, Docker/K8s, and Vercel, and integrate vector DBs to power fast, real-time customer profiles.

You will ship end-to-end features and maintain privacy/compliance while collaborating closely with the founding team on roadmap and future hiring.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of engineering experience, backend infra + distributed systems.
• Experience in fast-paced startup environments.
• Fluent in JavaScript/TypeScript; Python/ML exposure is a plus.
• Experience with vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector) and RAG.
• Comfort designing schemas and scaling Postgres.
• Ownership mindset; ability to ship quickly in early-stage work.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own core systems processing millions of orders across APIs and pipelines.
• Build queue-based microservices using Redis, Node.js, Typescript, Postgres, Docker/K8s, Vercel.
• Integrate vector databases + RAG pipelines for real-time searchable profiles.
• Ship features end-to-end: APIs, dashboards, integrations (Shopify, Klaviyo, Slack, Zapier, Gorgias).
• Keep us ahead on privacy & compliance.
• Collaborate with Founding Team on roadmap, product direction, and hiring future engineers.

Skills

Backend infra

Distributed systems

JavaScript/TypeScript

Python/ML exposure

Vector databases

RAG architectures

Postgres design & scaling

Ownership mindset

Tools

Redis

Node.js

Typescript

Postgres

Docker

Kubernetes

Vercel

Shopify apps

Job description

About OuterSignal

We are building the customer intelligence layer for commerce. Brands know when an order comes in, but they only see ~5% of the real story. We show them the other 95%: not just who bought, but who that person

About OuterSignal

We are building the customer intelligence layer for commerce. Brands know when an order comes in, but they only see ~5% of the real story. We show them the other 95%: not just who bought, but who that person is - the execs, influencers, journalists, retail buyers, investors, and everyday customers who become a brand’s best evangelists. Our platform enriches every order in real time with professional + personal signals, unlocks personas, and powers everything from surprise-and-delight outreach to smarter email flows, analytics, and BD leads. We’re a small, high-performing team building the category-defining platform for e-commerce customer intelligence, backed by a world-class investor base.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and own core systems that process millions of orders across APIs and LLM pipelines
• Build queue-based microservices using Redis, Node.js, Typescript, Postgres, Docker/K8s, Vercel
• Integrate vector databases + RAG pipelines to make customer profiles smarter, faster, and searchable in real time
• Ship features end-to-end: APIs, dashboards, integrations (Shopify, Klaviyo, Slack, Zapier, Gorgias)
• Keep us ahead on privacy & compliance
• Work directly with Founding Team on roadmap, product direction, and hiring future engineers

Who You Are

• 5+ years engineering experience, ideally with backend infra + distributed systems
• Experience in a fast-paced startup or willingness to dive in to a dynamic, changing environment
• Fluent in JS/TS (Node), with some Python/ML exposure a plus
• Experience with vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector, etc.) and RAG architectures
• Comfortable designing schemas + scaling Postgres
• Bonus if you’ve built around LLMs, Shopify apps, or data-privacy frameworks
• Most importantly: you want ownership. You like to build quickly, solve “figure-it-out” problems, and aren’t afraid of messy early-stage work.

Why Join Now

• Early seat: This is shaping the DNA of OuterSignal’s engineering org.
• Massive upside: Meaningful equity in a venture-backed company defining a new SaaS category
• High leverage work: You’ll see your code directly impact customers, revenue, and growth
• Big surface area: From AI pipelines to Shopify apps to RAG/vector search infra, you’ll touch it all
• Right moment: We’re past prototype, real brands already rely on us and have PMF, but the ceiling is wide open

Compensation Range: $200K - $300K