Staff Backend Engineer

BAM Ventures; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

BAM Ventures in San Francisco is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to design, build, and scale backend applications critical for product success. This role involves optimizing systems for scalability while owning production reliability and providing technical leadership to a growing engineering team.

The ideal candidate has over 8 years of backend engineering experience, proficient in Node.js, TypeScript, and Postgres, and is passionate about utilizing AI-driven coding tools. Competitive salary offered within the range of $220,000 to $270,000 USD.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience as a professional backend engineer.
• Proficient in Node.js, TypeScript, and Postgres.
• Experience building and scaling eCommerce platforms.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain scalable backend applications and APIs.
• Implement third-party integrations and enhance platform capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers.

Skills

Node.js

TypeScript

Postgres

eCommerce platform building

Cloud infrastructure (AWS)

AI coding tools

Feature flagging

Observability (Datadog)

Tools

Redis

Terraform

Docker

Kubernetes (EKS)

Job description

About the Role

We’re seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to help scale the backbone of our platform and expand into new product categories. You'll design, build, and ship across greenfield products and inherited systems with full accountability from scoping to production. This includes working on backend systems that directly impact product success and scalability: loyalty programs, architecture migration & modernization, real‑time pricing and checkout, and localization for global expansion.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend applications and APIs using Node.js, TypeScript, Redis, Postgres, and BullMQ
• Leverage AI-powered coding tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) to improve development speed, code quality, and system reliability
• Architect and optimize systems for high scalability and performance as the business rapidly expands
• Implement third‑party integrations and external APIs to enhance the platform’s capabilities
• Use feature flagging platforms to safely roll out, test, and monitor new backend capabilities in production
• Own production reliability through strong observability practices, including dashboards, custom metrics, alerting, distributed tracing, logging, and service‑level monitoring
• Develop and maintain internal tools that support fulfillment operations, internal workflows, and machine learning initiatives
• Set backend engineering standards and guide architectural decisions to ensure long‑term scalability, performance, and reliability
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to other engineers, shaping the culture and velocity of a growing team
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with product, data, and frontend teams to ship high‑impact features quickly
• Ensure backend systems are secure, well‑documented, and thoroughly tested

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience as a professional backend engineer
• Strong proficiency in Node.js, TypeScript, and Postgres
• Proven experience building and scaling eCommerce or online marketplace platforms
• Strong observability experience, including Datadog, custom metrics, dashboards, tracing, and alerting
• Experience with feature flagging, experimentation, and progressive rollouts
• Passion for using the latest AI coding tools and AI‑driven best practices to enhance development workflows
• Deep understanding of cloud infrastructure, particularly AWS, and infrastructure‑as‑code tooling such as Terraform
• Experience setting engineering best practices, making architectural decisions, and influencing technical direction across teams
• Ability to move fast and iterate quickly in a startup environment while maintaining high engineering standards
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and the ability to communicate technical trade‑offs effectively
• Experience working with an in‑house AI harness is preferred

Tech Stack

• Languages & Frameworks: TypeScript, Node.js, Python
• Database: Postgres, Redis
• Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS (S3, SNS, SQS, etc.) and/or GCP, Docker, Terraform, Kubernetes (EKS)
• AI Development Tools: AI‑powered coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), LLM‑based development enhancements

Salary Range: $220,000 — $270,000 USD