Senior Backend Engineer (AI)

TL;DR

Senior Backend Engineer (AI/Python): Building and optimizing AI-driven features, including tool-using LLM agents and RAG pipelines, for a nonprofit grant management platform with an accent on production-grade reliability and AI evaluation. Focus on designing resilient LLM workflows, implementing robust data pipelines, and ensuring high-quality retrieval for grant discovery.

Location: Must be based in the USA or Canada

Salary: $175,000 - $220,000 USD

Company

A YC-backed SaaS platform providing an operating system for grant-funded nonprofits to discover, track, and win funding.

What you will do

• Develop tool-using LLM agents, multi-step workflows, and guardrails for grant discovery and application drafting.
• Transition AI prototypes into resilient, observable production services with clear SLAs and fallback strategies.
• Implement evaluation and observability frameworks to ensure AI outputs remain grounded, safe, and cost-effective.
• Write high-quality, tested backend code and optimize data pipelines powering retrieval and evaluation.
• Collaborate with Product, Design, and GTM teams to scope UX and run A/B experiments.
• Raise engineering standards through maintainable code, comprehensive documentation, and thoughtful reviews.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience building production backend systems using Python (FastAPI, Celery or equivalent).
• Hands-on experience shipping LLM features to production, specifically tool/function calling and agent workflows.
• Strong data fundamentals, including SQL, schema design, and data pipeline construction.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment with high ownership and bias for action.
• Must be based in the USA or Canada.

Nice to have

• Proficiency in TypeScript, Node, or Ruby on Rails.
• Experience with AWS, GCP, Docker, CI/CD, and observability tools (logs, metrics, traces).
• Deep expertise in RAG (document ingestion, embeddings, hybrid search, re-ranking).
• Experience with evaluation frameworks such as Ragas, DeepEval, or OpenAI Evals.
• Familiarity with orchestration frameworks like LangChain, LangGraph, or LlamaIndex.

Culture & Benefits

• 100% covered health, dental, and vision insurance for employees.
• Generous PTO and parental leave.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Company laptop and home-office stipend.
• Bi-annual company retreats.