Staff Backend Engineer (AI)

TL;DR

Staff Backend Engineer (AI): Designing and evolving high-scale backend systems for a global membership streaming platform with an accent on architectural strategy, distributed systems, and AI-augmented engineering. Focus on leading cross-team technical initiatives, optimizing system reliability, and mentoring engineering teams to drive business impact.

Location: Remote-first with collaborative spaces in Waterloo and Toronto, Ontario

Salary: $171,000–$225,000 CAD

Company

A streaming platform providing access to classes from world-renowned instructors across diverse fields.

What you will do

• Lead architecture and system design for high-scale, member-facing backend services.
• Drive complex, cross-team technical initiatives from conception through execution.
• Collaborate with Product, Design, and Data teams to align technical strategy with business goals.
• Model and champion AI-augmented engineering practices to accelerate development and improve code quality.
• Improve system reliability, performance, and maintainability by proactively addressing technical debt.
• Mentor engineers and influence technical standards and architectural vision across the organization.

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience at a senior or staff level.
• Proven track record of designing and evolving distributed systems at scale.
• Experience leading technical initiatives with measurable impact on business metrics.
• Fluency in programming languages such as Ruby, Java, or Go.
• Strong systems thinking and ability to navigate tradeoffs in reliability, scalability, and speed.
• Experience driving alignment across cross-functional stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Experience with subscription, membership, or growth-oriented platforms.
• Experience operating in a consumer-facing product environment.
• Background in improving engineering processes or architectural standards across multiple teams.

Culture & Benefits

• Remote-first work environment with optional office collaboration in Ontario.
• Focus on craftsmanship, clarity, and long-term maintainability.
• Opportunity to influence technical direction and lead high-impact architectural initiatives.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusive workplace practices.