Staff Engineer, Agentic Backend

Sema4.ai, Inc.; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI technology firm in Atlanta is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to build production-grade agent infrastructure and ensure scalability and operability. The role requires 7+ years of backend experience, proficiency in Python, and familiarity with LLM or agent-based systems. Strong product mindset and excellent communication skills are essential. You will collaborate closely with AI teams and contribute to system reliability and API design.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of backend software engineering experience.
• Deep experience building backend services in Python.
• Experience working with LLM or agent-based systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement the backend systems for agent usability.
• Work with the AI team to deliver functionality.
• Ensure predictability under load in agent systems.
• Influence API design and data models.
• Participate in design and code reviews.

Skills

Backend software engineering

Python

Performance and reliability engineering

LLM and agent-based systems

System design and architecture

Communication

Job description

The Opportunity

At Sema4.ai, we’re building an Enterprise AI Agent platform that fundamentally changes how knowledge work gets done—by enabling people and AI agents to collaborate in durable, trustworthy ways.

As a Staff Backend Engineer on the Agent Platform, you will be the engineering counterpart to the AI team. While the AI team designs and evolves the underlying cognitive architectures, you build the production systems, features, and workflows that turn those capabilities into customer-facing features and functionality.

This is an early, high-impact role. You’ll operate at the platform/product boundary, shaping how agents are configured, executed, observed, and scaled in real enterprise environments. Your work will directly determine whether our agents are not just intelligent—but usable, reliable, and operable at scale.

Who You Are

Agent Systems Engineer

You know how to turn LLM- and agent-based building blocks into real backend systems. You’re comfortable working one layer above raw cognitive primitives: orchestration, execution models, state management, failure recovery, permissions, and lifecycle management. You understand the sharp edges of agent systems and design defensively around them.

Platform-Oriented Builder

You think in terms of capabilities, not demos. You care deeply about APIs, contracts, defaults, and extensibility. You design systems that other engineers and customers can build on, reliably and easily.

Product-Minded Technologist

You work closely with product and design, and care deeply about how features are actually used. You translate product intent into durable backend abstractions and push back when necessary to protect system integrity, operability, or long-term velocity.

Engineer With Judgment

You move fast and with stability. You know when to prototype and when to harden. You think about failure modes, migrations, and operational realities early—even when requirements are still evolving.

What You’ll Do

Build Product-Grade Agent Infrastructure

Design and implement the backend systems that make agents usable in production:
execution engines, workflow orchestration, tool invocation frameworks, document processing systems, database interfaces, authentication and authorization, and lifecycle management.

Turn AI Capabilities into Features

Work closely with the AI team to consume new cognitive primitives and turn them into concrete, shippable functionality: agent behaviors, configuration models, execution semantics, and observability surfaces that customers can rely on.

Own Reliability, Scale, and Operability

Ensure agent-powered systems behave predictably under load and over time. This includes handling retries, partial failures, long-running workflows, cost controls, and performance tradeoffs. You’ll help define what “production-ready” means for agents.

Shape the Platform Surface Area

Influence API design, data models, and internal contracts to ensure the platform remains cohesive as it grows. You’ll help prevent accidental complexity and keep the system understandable and evolvable.

Contribute to Technical Leadership

Participate in design reviews and code reviews, help set engineering standards, and mentor other engineers. You’ll act as a force multiplier across the product engineering organization.

What You Bring

• 7+ years of backend software engineering experience in production systems
• Deep experience building backend services in Python, including performance, reliability, and observability concerns
• Hands‑on experience working with LLM- or agent-based systems, especially orchestration, tools, or workflow execution
• Strong product and systems thinking: you understand how technical decisions show up in user experience
• Strong communication skills: whether you’re talking to colleagues, customers, or machines, you communicate clearly, concisely, and collaboratively
• A high‑ownership mindset: you care deeply about the systems you build, and you take responsibility for their long‑term health