Team Lead Backend Engineer (Core Applications)

Hockeystack; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI company in San Francisco is seeking a Backend Tech Lead to architect and scale their core API infrastructure. This position requires 5+ years of backend engineering experience and expertise in Node.js and large-scale data systems. You'll collaborate with various teams to ensure optimal performance while driving engineering best practices. This is an in-person role at their San Francisco HQ with a competitive salary range of $200,000–$240,000 annually.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience, ideally with exposure to high-scale systems.
• Deep experience with modern backend stacks including Node.js, ClickHouse, and AWS.
• Strong understanding of API design principles, query optimization, and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of APIs that expose GTM data.
• Optimize architecture for performance, cost, and reliability.
• Collaborate with AI, data, and frontend teams for seamless integrations.
• Mentor engineers and set the technical direction for the team.

Skills

Backend engineering experience

Node.js

API design principles

Performance optimization

Distributed systems

Large-scale data management

Tools

ClickHouse

AWS

Job description

HockeyStack is an Applied AI company on a mission to automate sales, marketing, and customer success for B2B companies. We build the most complete and accurate picture of the B2B buyer by integrating with every tool your team uses, partnering with third-party data providers, and deploying custom AI research agents. We use this data to power applications that automate high-value, high-complexity workflows across the go-to-market and revenue teams. Our core products include:

• Marketing Intelligence – instantly answers questions like “What led to that sudden drop in pipeline?”

• Account Intelligence – surfaces next-best actions to help reps move target accounts toward conversion

Since launching in January 2023, we’ve come through Y Combinator, raised a $26M Series A led by Bessemer. We’re growing 3× year-over-year, have hit multimillion ARR, and process over 60 TB of GTM data monthly. Based at our San Francisco HQ, we operate fully in-person, move fast and hire people who are ready to win.

🚀 Your Mission

As the Backend Tech Lead on the Data API team, your mission is to architect and scale our core API infrastructure that powers mission‑critical workflows for Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success teams. You’ll lead the engineering behind the services that serve 60+ TB of GTM data, delivering low‑latency, high‑availability APIs that expose deep buyer insights to our internal apps and customer‑facing dashboards.

This is a defining opportunity for an engineer who wants to own massive data and API infrastructure, set a high bar for engineering excellence, and ship fast in a high‑urgency environment.

🔧 What You’ll Do

• Lead the design and development of APIs that expose GTM data to internal and external users.

• Own end‑to‑end architecture for large‑scale data access patterns, optimizing for performance, cost, and reliability.
  

• Collaborate closely with AI, data, and frontend teams to ensure seamless integrations and clean API contracts.

• Tackle complex problems like versioning, rate‑limiting, auth, query complexity, and cache invalidation across a fast‑evolving product surface.

• Build internal tooling to improve engineering velocity and observability for our backend systems.

• Drive engineering best practices, code quality, and testing in a fast‑paced, high‑output environment.

• Mentor engineers and set the technical direction for the team.

🧬 What We’re Looking For

• Ownership‑first mindset — you take initiative, move fast, and figure things out

• Thrive in early‑stage, high‑urgency environments where speed and impact matter

• Fully committed to working in‑person 5 days/week at our SF HQ

• Curious, self‑aware, and feedback‑driven — you bring energy, not ego

• See this role as a defining chapter — not a stepping stone or side quest

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience, ideally with exposure to high‑scale systems.

• Deep experience with modern backend stacks – we use Node.js, ClickHouse and AWS

• Strong understanding of API design principles, query optimization, and distributed systems.

• You’ve worked with large‑scale data systems (think TBs of data) and know how to manage performance, cost, and uptime at scale.

• Startup mindset – you move fast, figure things out, and don’t wait to be told what to do.

• Comfortable owning ambiguity – you define the problem, architect the solution, and ship the result.

✨ Why Join Now?

We’re at an inflection point. The product is proven, the market is massive, and the opportunity is wide open. You’ll be joining a company with real traction, rapid growth, and meaningful backing—where every person still shapes the outcome. This isn’t just a job. It’s a chance to build something category‑defining with people who care deeply about doing it right.

As part of our San Francisco, California‑based team, the salary range for this role is $200,000– $240,000 USD base pay annually, depending on experience and qualifications.

HockeyStack is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We celebrate diversity and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees.