Senior Backend Engineer

SeniorRemote
CompanyClera
LocationPalo Alto
CategorySoftware Engineering
DepartmentEngineering
SenioritySenior
WorkplaceRemote
Posted2026-09-23
Estimated salary$15K - $21K (a market estimate, not the employer's figure)
Viaashby

Description

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a high-impact individual contributor role on the engineering team of an early-stage AI/ML platform company focused on cloud-native architecture intelligence. You will design and build the intelligent backend systems that power observability, architecture modeling, and AI-driven recommendation engines, sitting at the intersection of distributed systems, data pipelines, and ML infrastructure.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

  • Design and build scalable backend systems powering observability, architecture modeling, and recommendation engines using data pipelines, microservices, and system modeling techniques.
  • Collaborate with AI engineers to embed LLM-based and multi-agent intelligence within the platform, enabling rich recommendations and generative planning features.
  • Build services that identify architecture patterns and deliver actionable visibility to users.
  • Implement monitoring, fault-tolerant workflows, and observability layers for mission-critical services.
  • Work cross-functionally with product managers, AI researchers, and technical leadership to translate requirements into robust platform capabilities.
  • Share learnings and contribute to a strong, collaborative engineering culture.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

  • 4+ years of backend engineering experience at top-tier startups or technology companies, building production-grade systems.
  • Proven track record building scalable, distributed systems and microservices architectures, ideally in 0-to-1 product environments.
  • Expertise in Go or Python with a commitment to clean, idiomatic, maintainable code.
  • Hands-on experience with data pipelines, observability systems, and monitoring infrastructure for production services.
  • Deep knowledge of DevOps tooling, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud-native technologies.
  • Experience integrating or building with LLM-based systems, AI workflows, or multi-agent architectures.
  • Strong aptitude for performance tuning, debugging complex systems, and technical architecture design.
  • Prior startup experience and comfort operating with autonomy and ownership in fast-moving environments.
  • Practical experience with fault-tolerant workflow design and resilience patterns in mission-critical services.
  • Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (such as Cursor or similar).
  • Strong Computer Science fundamentals; graduate-level education is a plus.
  • Domain experience with cloud architecture, infrastructure optimization, or technology stack modernization is a bonus.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

  • Salary: $160,000 to $200,000 per year (USD)
  • Visa sponsorship: Not available

LOCATION

Fully remote, open to candidates based in the United States.