Software Engineer, Backend (AI)

Location: Hybrid in Redwood City, California, United States

Salary: $180,000–$300,000 per year, plus equity

Company

Character.AI develops interactive entertainment products that help people connect, learn, and tell stories through consumer AI.

What you will do

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend services supporting applications and infrastructure.
• Build secure and efficient REST and GraphQL APIs for frontend applications and third-party integrations.
• Improve system architecture, performance, reliability, scalability, fault tolerance, and availability.
• Collaborate with product managers, data analysts, frontend engineers, designers, and data scientists to deliver backend solutions.
• Monitor system health, troubleshoot issues, and implement improvements to system stability and efficiency.
• Maintain security practices that protect user data and system integrity.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in backend development with scalable and reliable applications.
• Strong proficiency in Python, Java, or Go; Python and Go are preferred.
• Experience with PostgreSQL, MySQL, or NoSQL databases.
• Understanding of distributed systems, microservices architecture, and AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes, plus API design and integration.
• Strong problem-solving, system optimization, communication, and collaboration skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with event-driven architectures and Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar messaging systems.
• Knowledge of caching strategies, performance optimization, and large-scale high-traffic applications.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Exposure to machine learning or data-driven applications.

Culture & Benefits

• Majority of health insurance premiums covered for employees and families.
• Generous 401(k) contribution.
• Up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Four weeks of paid time off.
• Daily in-office catering, monthly DoorDash stipend, and monthly wellness stipend.
• Commitment to diversity and equal opportunity.