Senior Backend Engineer

About Us

Global trade still runs on outdated, manual workflows - we are fixing that by building AI agents for the logistics industry. Our AI works alongside humans, automating document-heavy tasks so companies can process shipments faster and with fewer errors.

We have moved past the "zero-to-one" phase and have achieved clear product-market fit. We are currently seeing rapid traction with >100% MoM revenue growth and are already deployed with customers processing meaningful operational volume. We've raised $5M from First Round Capital and Pear VC and are now scaling our platform's breadth and depth. Our deeply technical team comes from Google, LinkedIn, Salesforce and top schools and AI research labs.

The Role

As a Senior Backend Engineer at Amari AI, you will own the core data infrastructure powering our AI-driven logistics platform. This is a high-ownership, zero-to-one role - you will design and scale the systems that ingest, process, and serve real-time logistics data across AI pipelines, queues, databases, and search layers. You will set technical direction for the backend, operate with significant autonomy, and have an outsized impact on product reliability and performance from day one.

What You’ll Do

Architect and scale distributed backend systems - design queue pipelines, communication hub, observability, define service boundaries, and build for failure with retry strategies, circuit breakers, and graceful degradation

Own database design and reliability - schema design, indexing, and query optimization for the right use cases, and data pipelines that keep systems in sync at scale

Build AI search infrastructure - for real-time logistics lookup and AI-driven features

Lead technically in a fast-moving startup - set engineering standards, collaborate directly with founders on the roadmap, and help hire and mentor future backend engineers

Who We're Looking For

4–6 years of professional backend software engineering experience, with meaningful time in a high-growth startup or high-scale production environment

Demonstrated ability to own and ship backend systems end-to-end in fast-moving, ambiguous environments

Track record of making sound architectural trade-offs under time pressure and revisiting decisions as requirements evolve

In-Person Collaboration: You are energized by working shoulder-to-shoulder with founders and engineers in our San Francisco office.

Success Metrics

System Reliability: Core logistics services and queue-driven workflows maintain high uptime and low error rates under production load

Throughput & Latency: Message processing pipelines and search queries meet defined SLAs as data volumes grow

Architectural Quality: Backend systems are extensible, well-documented, and enable other engineers to build on top of your foundations with confidence

Velocity: Ability to scope, build, and ship new backend capabilities within sprint cycles without sacrificing correctness or resilience

Autonomy: Resolve complex technical blockers independently and surface the right issues at the right time

Is This the Right Fit?

You will love this role if

You thrive in the zero-to-one phase and are energized by the absence of legacy constraints and bureaucracy

You make principled architectural decisions quickly and are comfortable revisiting them as the product evolves

You prefer being handed a problem over a set of tickets, and you own the outcome — not just the code

You have strong opinions about backend systems, hold them loosely, and defend your reasoning with clarity

This might not be for you if

You need large team structures, extensive documentation, or clearly defined quarterly roadmaps to be productive

You prefer isolated, single-component work with a narrowly bounded scope

Ambiguity and rapid pivots common in early-stage startups are uncomfortable for you

Perks

Founder-level impact and meaningful equity during a period of massive scale.

Free office lunches and dinner.

Comprehensive health insurance and 401k plan.