Staff Backend Engineer — Real-Time AI Platforms

Sarah Smith Fund; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Health benefits

Company retreats

Job summary

Pika is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend, to lead scalable backend systems powering real-time collaboration and AI-driven workflows. You will own design choices, APIs, and infrastructure shaping the core backend platforms used by millions of users.

Work with engineering, product, and design teams to deliver reliable, performant, and secure backend solutions. You will mentor engineers, drive architectural decisions, and raise coding standards across the team.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend software engineering experience, with at least 2+ years in senior backend roles.
• Deep expertise in building distributed systems, RESTful and real-time APIs, and cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Kubernetes).
• Strong system design skills for reliable, scalable backend services for high-traffic applications.
• Track record of launching impactful backend features that balance technical quality with business needs.
• Proven ability to independently lead complex projects, troubleshoot problems, and deliver impactful solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, able to thrive in cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop scalable, high-performing backend systems and APIs powering all Pika products and services.
• Build, maintain, and enhance distributed systems and cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP), ensuring high availability and reliability.
• Take ownership of backend features and platforms from ideation through launch and ongoing iteration.
• Develop systems to support low-latency, real-time collaboration and messaging at scale.
• Design and optimize backend features that power creative, AI-driven product capabilities.
• Lead technical discussions, review code, drive backend architecture proposals, and mentor engineers to elevate standards across the team.

Skills

Distributed systems

RESTful APIs

Real-time APIs

Cloud infrastructure

System design

Leadership

Communication

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Postgres

Redis

Job description

Pika is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend, to lead scalable backend systems powering real-time collaboration and AI-driven workflows. You will own design choices, APIs, and infrastructure shaping the core backend platforms used by millions of users.

Work with engineering, product, and design teams to deliver reliable, performant, and secure backend solutions. You will mentor engineers, drive architectural decisions, and raise coding standards across the team.