Staff Backend Engineer: AI Systems Architect & Tech Leader

Genius AI (HearstLab); New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance & dental

Flexible PTO

In-office lunch NYC & SF

Wellhub wellness access

Professional development stipend

401k from day 1

Dependent Care FSA

Paid parental leave

Fertility & adoption benefits

Job summary

Genius AI is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to anchor architectural direction and hands-on delivery for AI-powered products in a fast-growing environment. This role focuses on architecture, proof-of-concepts, and building scalable systems, with leadership responsibilities and cross-functional collaboration.

You will drive strategic technical decisions, implement high-quality code, and partner with Product, Design, and Engineering to translate business goals into concrete roadmaps.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional engineering experience with a strong backend focus and ownership of system design and architecture for scalable products.
• Experience building with AI and integrating LLMs into production systems.
• Ability to make architectural decisions with incomplete information and iterate quickly in production.
• Deep expertise in Kotlin; good understanding of backend service design and performance at scale. TypeScript is a plus.
• Solid command of modern cloud infrastructure (AWS) and Kubernetes.
• Natural collaborator who aligns teams around a shared vision and keeps execution moving.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own the technical direction of AI-powered products and 0-to-1 builds, balancing long-term trade-offs and maintaining a backlog of build-ready work.
• Integrate AI models and LLMs into customer-facing products as reliable, high-performance production systems.
• Shape architectural decisions that define product capabilities for years to come.
• Write high-quality code and ship proof-of-concepts to validate options and address challenges.
• Partner with Product, Design, and Engineering leadership to translate business goals into well-architected initiatives with clear sequencing.
• Proactively identify and resolve systemic technical debt, unblock engineers, and raise the quality bar across the team.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on technical vision and ensure smooth execution.
• Communicate complex architectural trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Backend architecture

Kotlin

AWS

Kubernetes

AI/LLMs integration

Production systems

Communication

Job description

Genius AI is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to anchor architectural direction and hands-on delivery for AI-powered products in a fast-growing environment. This role focuses on architecture, proof-of-concepts, and building scalable systems, with leadership responsibilities and cross-functional collaboration.

You will drive strategic technical decisions, implement high-quality code, and partner with Product, Design, and Engineering to translate business goals into concrete roadmaps.