Backend Engineer - San Jose, CA
San Jose, CA
Category: Information Technology
Reference ID: 10064439
Shortcut: http://addisongroup.gosnaphop.com/Fzl36O
Title: Backend Engineer (Founding / First Backend Hire)
Location: San Jose, CA (In Person)
Salary: $230,000 – $275,000 / Annually
Job Type: Full-Time | Exempt
Benefits: Eligible for medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and PTO
Sponsorship: Not available
GenAI-powered consumer technology company is hiring its first Backend Engineer to help turn cutting-edge machine learning and visual media research into production-grade systems. This is a foundational engineering role working directly with research scientists, frontend engineers, and leadership to build the backend platform that will power a new generation of AI-driven photography and photo-editing experiences.
This role blends rapid prototyping with long-term platform ownership and is ideal for an engineer who enjoys building from scratch, shipping quickly, and setting technical standards that will scale with the company.
The Opportunity
As the first dedicated backend engineer, you’ll own the core backend architecture for a consumer-facing AI product. You’ll collaborate closely with ML engineers to productionize models, design APIs that scale, and build the infrastructure needed for reliability, security, and growth.
You won’t be handed a rigid roadmap—this role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong technical judgment, and a builder’s mindset. Your work will directly shape how the product is built, scaled, and experienced by users.
What You’ll Do
- Design, build, and maintain robust APIs that power consumer-facing applications
- Partner with ML engineers to productionize models and pipelines into reliable, fault-tolerant services
- Own backend infrastructure including deployments, monitoring, CI/CD, and security
- Work closely with frontend engineers to iterate quickly without sacrificing quality
- Own projects end-to-end—from early exploration and prototyping through deployment and scaling
- Establish backend best practices and documentation that will support future engineering hires
What We’re Looking For
- Experience building backend systems from 0 → 1, either as an early startup engineer or technical lead
- Strong background in API design and integration with client-facing applications
- Comfort with databases, caching layers, and schema design for both real-time and analytical workloads
- Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), containerization, and infrastructure-as-code
- Familiarity with serving AI/ML models in production, especially for media-rich or visual systems
- Enjoys fast iteration but maintains a high bar for reliability, testing, and maintainability
- Strong ownership mindset and excitement about wearing multiple hats on a small team
Ideal background:
Engineers who’ve worked at the intersection of visual media, cloud infrastructure, and machine learning—for example on photo platforms, creative tools, or ML-driven consumer products.
Team & Culture
- Small, highly technical team (currently ~6; growing to ~15 over the next year)
- In-person collaboration is a core value; this role is onsite in the San Jose, CA.
- Product-focused environment with healthy balance between research and delivery
- Best fit for people who are curious, decisive, and comfortable moving fast
- Poor fit for engineers who prefer heavy process, narrow scope, or lots of direction
Interview Process
- Intro call with the CTO
- Collaborative technical interview (coding or system design)
- Short take-home exercise (4–6 hours max)
- Culture & collaboration interview with the CEO
Why This Role
- First backend hire with real ownership and influence
- Direct exposure to ML, GenAI, and visual media systems in production
- Competitive compensation and strong benefits
- Opportunity to help define the technical foundation of a new AI-native product
- Work alongside researchers and engineers solving genuinely hard problems
Addison Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Addison Group provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Reasonable accommodation is available for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.
IND 005-009
-
Full Stack Software Engineer - Typescript, React, Next.js
San Francisco, CA
Title: Full Stack Engineer - Typescript, React, Next.js, Typescript and Postgres Location: San Francisco, CA - Hybrid in the office 3 days weekly. Include CITY, STATE on Resume. Relocation is fine. Salary: $180000 - $300000 / Year (depending on experie...
Recommended
-
Senior Platform Engineer - Python - Chicagoland
Northfield, IL
Senior Platform Engineer (Python-Focused) Location: Chicagoland area (Hybrid – 3 days onsite weekly) Compensation: $170000 – $190000 / Year base + bonus Employment Type: Full-Time | Exempt Benefits: Eligible for medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and PTO...
Recommended
-
Senior Backend Software Engineer
District of Columbia
Job Title: Senior Backend Software Engineer Location: Remote Employment Type: Contract Pay Rate: $65 - $70/ hour Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). The Role We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to play a p...
Recommended
-
Data Engineer - Azure Databricks (minimum 1 day Hybrid in Maryland)
Silver Spring, MD
Position: Data Engineer (Databricks/Cloud Data Pipelines/Azure) Location: Mostly Remote but Hybrid – 20% Onsite in Montgomery County, MD - near Northern DC metro area) Contract-to-Hire (Candidates must be willing to convert to FTE after contract period...
Recommended
-
Sr. IAM Automation Engineer
Anywhere
Job Title: Sr. IAM Automation Engineer Location: Remote. Arizona-based candidates preferred; occasional in-person meetings may occur for those located in-state. Job Type: Full Time Compensation: $105,000 - $120,000 (dependent on experience) Benefits: T...
Recommended
-
Associate Account Manager
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Job Title: Associate Account Manager Location (city, state): Santa Ana, CA Industry: Landscaping / Commercial Services Pay: $68,640 - $75,000 About Our Client: Addison Group is hiring on behalf of our client, a leading commercial landscaping services c...
Recommended
-
Senior Structural Engineer
White Plains, NY
Job Title: Senior Structural Engineer Office Location: White Plains & NYC - Hybrid work schedule Salary: $100000-$140000 / Year + bonus Benefits: Medical, Dental, 401k, Commuting Cost Senior Structural Engineer This role supports multiple concurrent pr...
Recommended
-
Landscape Operations Manager
San Fernando, CA
Job Title: Landscape Operations Manager Location (city, state): San Fernando, CA Industry: Landscaping / Construction Services Pay: $70,304 - $85,000 About Our Client: Addison Group is partnering with our client, a leading provider in commercial landsc...
Recommended
-
Landscape Operations Manager
San Fernando, CA
Job Title: Landscape Operations Manager Location (city, state): San Fernando, CA Industry: Landscaping / Construction Services Pay: $70,304 - $85,000 About Our Client: Addison Group is partnering with our client, a leading provider in commercial landsc...
Recommended
-
Landscape Operations Manager
San Diego, CA
Job Title: Landscape Operations Manager Location (city, state): San Diego, CA Industry: Landscaping / Construction Services Pay: $70,304 - $85,000 About Our Client: Addison Group is partnering with our client, a leading provider in commercial landscapi...
Recommended
-
Senior Healthcare Analytics Engineer - Contractor (Remote, MUST be in USA)
Anywhere
Position: USA Remote – Senior Analytics Engineer - Contractor (Healthcare (Payer or Claims) Data Platform) Location: 100% Remote – Mainland-USA based candidates ONLY (working EST) Length: Long-Term Contracting, 9-12+Months (Likely extensions) Target Pa...
Recommended
-
Integrity Engineer
Anywhere
Job Title: Integrity Engineer (Level 3 Data Analyst) Location (city, state): Remote Compensation: $110,000 – $190,000 annually, depending on experience Benefits: This position is eligible for comprehensive benefits including health, dental, vision, PTO...
Recommended
-
Resident Services Coordinator
San Francisco, CA
Title: Resident Services Coordinator - Senior Living Location: Mission District & South Park, San Francisco, CA Pay: $27 - $29 / hour Benefits: This role is eligible for medical, dental, vision and 401k. Position Overview: The Resident Services Coordin...
Recommended
-
QA Engineer
Coppell, TX
Title: QA Engineer Location: Coppell, TX Salary Range: $115K-$130K We are looking to bring on a QA Engineer due to new growth within our organization. This person will need to bring 6+ years of QA Engineering experience to make an immediate impact to t...
Recommended
-
Project Engineer
Falmouth, MA
Job Title: Project Engineer Industry: Civil Construction / Infrastructure Location (City, State): Falmouth, MA Compensation: $80,000 – $85,000 annually Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, dental, vision, pension, and 401(k) Work Schedule: ...
Recommended
-
Application Engineer - Oracle XStore
Mattoon, IL
Job Title: Application Engineer – Oracle ERP & POS Systems (XStore) Location: Hybrid – U.S. Based in the following states ONLY: NC, GA, KY, PA, OH, SC, VA, TN, MS, MD, IL, IN, AL, WV, FL, IN, MO Sponsorship: Not available at this time Job Type: Full Ti...
Recommended
-
Mechanical Design Engineer
Tulsa Metro Area, Oklahoma
95-115K We are seeking a skilled Mechanical Design Engineer with a strong foundation in mechanical engineering principles and hands-on experience in 2D/3D modeling, CAD design, and industry code compliance. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in A...
Recommended
-
Head of AI & Data Science
Austin, TX
Job Title: Head of AI & Data Science Location: Austin, TX - must be local and able to be onsite 3 days per week (Mon, Tues & Thurs) Duration: 6 month contract-to-hire Compensation: $150,000 - $160,000 / Annually Work schedule: Monday-Friday (8 AM-5PM C...
Recommended
-
DevOps Engineer - GitLab, Kubernetes, Terraform
Northfield, IL
Title: DevOps Engineer - GitLab, Terraform, Docker, Jenkins - Onsite Location: Chicago Suburbs - 3X weekly Salary: $140000 – $150000 / Year + Bonus Job Type: Full-Time | Exempt Benefits: Eligible for medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and PTO Sponsorship...
Recommended
-
AWS DevOps Engineer - Remote see states
Anywhere
Title: AWS DevOps Engineer – Remote in States Location: Remote in the following states: NC, GA, KY, PA, OH, SC, VA, TN, MS, MD, IL, IN, AL, WV, FL, IN, MO. Salary: $120-125K + Bonus Job Type: Full-Time | Exempt Benefits: This position is eligible for m...
Recommended
-
Software Developer Engineer in Test - SDET
Oklahoma City, OK
We are partnering with a client to fill a direct hire SDET role in Oklahoma City. This position offers $93,000–$110,000 plus bonus, medical, dental, vision, 401K, etc. Must be willing to work onsite during training and three days a week onsite after tr...
Recommended
-
Sr. Data Engineer
Anywhere
Job Title: Sr. Data Engineer Location: Phoenix, AZ Job Type: Full Time Compensation: $130,000 - $150,000 DOE Benefits: The position is eligible for medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage, & PTO Senior Data Engineer ROLE OVERVIEW The Senio...
Recommended
-
Application Engineer - Warehouse Management Systems
Mattoon, IL
Job: Application Engineer - Warehouse Management Systems Job Location: READ: Remote in the following states: NC, GA, KY, PA, OH, SC, VA, TN, MS, MD, IL, IN, AL, WV, FL, IN, MO, MI - Please include city/state where you live. Candidates that do not resid...
Recommended
-
Senior Cyber Security Engineer
Mattoon, IL
Title: Senior Cyber Security Engineer Location: Champaign, IL area Salary: $110-120K + Bonus Job Type: Full-Time | Exempt Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and PTO. No sponsorship available Senior Cyber Security E...
Recommended
-
Senior Network Engineer and Cloud Architect
District of Columbia
Title: Senior Network Engineer and Cloud Architect Location: Remote - Must live in the Mid-Atlantic or NC, GA, or FL / 25–30% travel required Job Type: Full-Time | Exempt Salary: $140000 - $170000/ Year Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, ...
Recommended
-
Systems Engineer
Silver Spring, MD
Position: Senior Systems Engineer Location: Silver Spring, MD (Onsite, 5 days a week, moving to hybrid) Salary: $115k - $120k/year (Contract to Hire) Overview: A company is looking for a motivated Senior Systems Engineer to help rebuild end-user servic...
Recommended
-
Medical Collector
San Antonio, TX
Job Title: Medical Collector Location: San Antonio, TX Industry: Healthcare – Revenue Cycle / Medical Collections Pay: $24.00 – $26.00 / Hourly Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, dental, vision and 401(k). About Our Client: Addison Group ...
Recommended
-
Manufacturing Quality Engineer
Broken Arrow, OK
We are partnering with a manufacturing client to fill a direct hire Manufacturing Quality Engineer role. This position is responsible for leading and overseeing the company’s quality management system, ensuring compliance with ASME standards, customer ...
Recommended
-
Medical Collector- Primary Care
San Antonio, TX
Job Title: Medical Collector- Primary Care (Onsite) Location: San Antonio, TX (Fully Onsite) Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM Pay: $21.00 / Hourly Benefits: This position is eligible for medical, dental, vision, and 401(k), About the Role A wel...
Recommended
-
Accounts Payable Manager
San Antonio, TX
Job Title: Accounts Payable Manager Location (city, state): San Antonio, Texas Compensation: $80k - $100k / year (depending on experience) Benefits: This position is eligible for Medical, Dental, and Vision Job Description An organization is seeking an...
Recommended