Senior Backend Engineer

About the Role A fast-growing, Y Combinator–backed AI startup in the supply chain space is looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join their small, high-velocity engineering team in San Francisco. You'll build the backbone of an AI-powered platform that plans and executes how consumer goods are produced and moved globally — turning the messy, physical flow of goods into programmable, reliable, scalable systems. This is an end-to-end ownership role at a seed-stage company (fewer than 10 people) operating at the intersection of AI, logistics, and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). You'll have a direct and meaningful impact on the core product from day one. What You'll Do Design and implement backend systems that power AI-driven supply chain decisions and automated execution. Architect data models and pipelines to ingest, clean, and organize messy, real-world supply chain data. Ensure user requests and supply chain plans are processed in real time for reliable, 24/7 operation. Build scalable, high-performance SQL queries and data access patterns across large datasets. Ship production-grade services using modern backend frameworks and rigorous testing practices. Collaborate closely with the core product and engineering team to translate logistics workflows into software. Own and continuously improve deployment pipelines and runbook processes to keep systems running reliably. Leverage AI code generation and management tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode) to accelerate development, including parallelizing service instances for continuous operation. What We're Looking For Must-haves (dealbreakers): 5+ years of hands-on experience as a Backend Engineer with a strong track record of designing data architectures and shipping real products. Proficiency in Python and modern backend frameworks such as FastAPI , with testing tools like pytest . Demonstrated proficiency with AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode), including experience parallelizing instances for autonomous, 24/7 operation. Required skills: Experience organizing and managing messy, real-world data at scale. Strong SQL skills — writing high-performance queries over millions of data points. Solid system design skills; comfortable designing scalable data architectures with minimal supervision. Experience owning backend systems end-to-end, including real-time request processing. Experience with large-scale data architectures and systems engineering. Nice to have: Experience building unstructured data ingestion systems. Experience with frontend frameworks and their testing tools. Familiarity with DevOps practices and AWS . Background or genuine interest in supply chain, logistics, or CPG industries. Compensation & Benefits Salary: $110,000 – $200,000 USD annually, depending on experience. Early-stage equity in a well-funded, high-growth startup. Visa sponsorship available. Location This is an on-site role based in San Francisco, CA . You'll work alongside a tight-knit, fast-moving team in person. Remote arrangements are not available for this position.