Staff Software Engineer (Backend)

Fuel Talent; New York (NY); On-site; USD 220,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Flexible vacation

Flat structure

Job summary

Fuel Talent in New York, NY is seeking a Staff Software Engineer (Backend) to architect and own delivery of complex backend systems. You will set technical direction, guide cloud infrastructure on AWS, and lead AI-powered development practices across teams.

The role emphasizes building scalable APIs, mentoring engineers, and collaborating with product, data, DevOps, and AI teams to deliver an AI-enhanced platform.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with a backend focus.
• Strong system design and cloud infrastructure experience (AWS).
• Hands-on experience with relational databases and data modeling.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers.
• Delivery of large-scale production APIs.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own delivery of complex, high-impact backend systems spanning multiple teams.
• Set technical direction and coding standards for backend development across the organization.
• Design, develop, and deploy data-intensive applications in production.
• Drive adoption of AI coding tools and measure productivity gains.
• Mentor senior engineers and influence technical decisions without formal authority.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to build an AI-powered platform.
• Own testing strategy, observability, and build-versus-buy decisions for critical infrastructure.

Skills

Backend systems

System design

Mentoring

AI tooling

AWS

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

PostgreSQL

GraphQL

Datadog

Airflow

Dagster

Kafka

AWS SQS

Kinesis

SDKs

Job description

# Staff Software Engineer (Backend)ApplyApplyPosted 2 days agoShareFull TimeNew York, New York$220,000 - $240,000 Annually**About Our Client**Our client is a growing technology company using AI and automation to improve complex business processes. The team is seeking engineers who enjoy solving challenging problems, building scalable software, and delivering meaningful results.*This position requires current authorization to work in the United States. Our client is unable to sponsor work visas at this time.***About the Role**Our client is looking for a Staff Backend Engineer to solve complex, cross-team technical challenges, set architectural direction, and act as a force multiplier across the engineering organization. You'll translate strategic goals into technical roadmaps, lead execution, and champion AI-augmented development practices.You'll help scale generative AI applications while tackling challenging problems in backend architecture, system design, and cloud infrastructure.*This role will work primarily in either Python or TypeScript, depending on team needs. Prior experience in either language is not required. Strong, transferable backend engineering fundamentals and the ability to learn new languages and tooling are most important.***What You'll Do*** Architect and own delivery of complex, high-impact backend systems spanning multiple teams* Set technical direction and coding and design standards for backend development across the organization* Design, develop, and deploy data-intensive applications in a production environment* Drive adoption of AI coding tools, establish best practices, and measure productivity gains* Mentor senior engineers and influence technical decisions without formal authority* Partner with full-stack, data, DevOps, and AI engineers, as well as product and business teams, to build an AI-powered platform* Own testing strategy, system health, observability, and build-versus-buy decisions for critical infrastructure**What We're Looking For*** 10+ years of software engineering experience, with a track record of leading complex, high-impact backend projects at scale, including large-scale production API development and backend data processing* Hands-on experience with relational databases and data model design* Strong system design and cloud infrastructure experience, preferably AWS, including CI/CD, containerization with Docker and Kubernetes, and observability practices* Experience with logging, user activity metrics, and monitoring tools such as Datadog or similar platforms* Demonstrated success adopting AI coding assistants to improve team productivity* Excellent communication skills and experience mentoring senior engineers**Preferred Qualifications*** Experience building SaaS applications in complex or regulated industries* Experience shipping user-facing AI products or deploying AI/ML models* Experience building SDKs or libraries* Experience with vector databases* Experience with data processing orchestrators, such as Airflow or Dagster* Experience with message queue systems, such as AWS SQS, Kinesis, or Kafka* GraphQL and PostgreSQL experience* Open-source contributions or technical publications**Culture**Our client values collaboration, technical ownership, and practical innovation. The team is looking for engineers who are motivated by meaningful work and share a commitment to using technology to improve outcomes.**Compensation & Benefits*** Competitive compensation package, including cash and equity* Medical, dental, and vision benefits* Flexible paid vacation policy* Flat organizational structure with direct access to leadership