Backend Engineer - Internship

Certa is the AI-first third-party operating system. Enterprises, from the Fortune 500 to fast-growing startups, use our no-code platform to onboard, assess, and monitor their vendors, suppliers, and partners across risk, compliance, and ESG. We have processed over 10 million entities for 100,000+ users across 120+ countries, and are backed by Fin Capital, Vertex Ventures, and Point72 Ventures. This is a paid 3-month internship with the opportunity to transition into a full-time role at the end based on performance. Joining our Platform team, you won't be handed make-work. From your first week you'll build and ship backend services that power real workflows used by Fortune 500 companies, with real ownership and mentorship from engineers who've built at scale. What You'll Do Build & ship APIs: Build and ship REST/GraphQL APIs that power real workflows used by Fortune 500 companies. Write production-ready code: Write clean, tested, production-ready code, not just prototypes. Own issues end-to-end: Debug and own issues from the database query to the API response. Design data models: Work directly with product and frontend engineers to design data models and contracts. Review & own: Participate in code reviews, giving, not just receiving, feedback, and gradually own a service or subsystem sooner than you'd think. What You'll Need Strong fundamentals: Data structures, algorithms, system design basics, and databases. Backend language: Proficiency in at least one backend language: Python, Node.js, Go, or Java. Real project experience: You've built something real (a side project, open-source contribution, or hackathon win) touching several of: a relational database (schema design, queries, indexes), authentication (JWT, sessions, OAuth, implemented, not just read about), a cache layer (Redis or similar), an API with real error handling (400s, 401s, 500s, not just 200s), a message queue or background job (Kafka, SQS, Celery, or a simple cron), and deploying something beyond localhost (Docker, a cloud VM, or a serverless function). Web fundamentals: You understand how the internet works: HTTP, REST, auth, caching, beyond a textbook level. Curiosity: You ask "why" before you ask "how," and you're the kind of person who reads documentation for fun. AI-assisted building: You use AI tools (Cursor, Copilot, or LLM APIs) in your workflow: prompting well, spotting hallucinations, and never blindly trusting generated code. Internship Details & What You Get Duration: A paid 3-month internship, with the opportunity to transition to a full-time role at the end based on performance. Compensation: Competitive compensation, benchmarked above market for fresher roles. Growth: Fast growth, your title and comp move with your impact, not the calendar. Mentorship & impact: Real mentorship from engineers who've built at scale (not just a "buddy" program), and a front-row seat to building a category-defining product. Location This role is based in India (remote). Certa is a remote-first company and we hire globally. We believe strongly in each team member working from the location that they choose. Should Certers wish to meet and work in person, they have 3 lively office locations they can travel to: London San Francisco Jaipur The perfect place for Certers to collaborate, co-work, and have face-to-face meetings. Why Certa Category leadership. Certa was named a Leader in the inaugural 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Third-Party Risk Management Tools - recognition that we're defining the category, not following it. Industry recognition. We've been honored across the analyst and awards landscape, including Top Tech and Customer Value distinctions in The Hackett Group's 2026 Risk Management SolutionMap, the ProcureTech100 (Advanced AI and Risk Management categories), and Best Overall eProcurement Software in the FinTech Breakthrough Awards. A top place to work. Certa was named one of Forbes' Best Startup Employers in the US. We're a fast-growing company where you'll wear many hats, ship quickly, and shape decisions that matter. Real scale with strong backing. We've processed over 10 million entities for 100,000+ users across 120+ countries. We're well-funded by leading investors including Fin Capital, Vertex Ventures, and Point72 Ventures, on the back of an oversubscribed Series B, headed towards Series C. We're excited to meet you!