Staff Backend Engineer
About Stack AI Stack AI is a no-code, drag-and-drop platform for designing, testing, and deploying AI workflows powered by large language models. Our visual interface lets teams connect data sources to AI models and ship production applications — chatbots, document processing pipelines, database Q&A tools, and more — without writing code. We're scaling from thousands to millions of users, and the backend systems that make that possible need a dedicated technical leader. That's where you come in. The Role We're looking for a Staff Backend Engineer to own and evolve the backbone of our platform. This is a technical leadership position: you'll shape our architecture, set engineering standards, and make the long-term infrastructure decisions that determine how Stack AI scales. You'll work directly with our founders and product leads, balancing speed with sustainability in a fast-moving startup where your work ships quickly and your influence is felt across the entire product.
What You'll Do
Architect and scale core systems — Design, build, and own the backend services that power our no-code AI platform, from API layer through data pipeline. Lead authentication and identity infrastructure — Own our SSO, SAML, and OIDC integrations, ensuring enterprise-grade auth that scales with our customer base. Set technical direction — Define system design patterns, service boundaries, data modeling approaches, and long-term infrastructure strategy. Mentor and elevate the team — Raise the bar through design reviews, pairing, knowledge-sharing, and establishing best practices across backend engineering. Drive reliability and observability — Proactively identify bottlenecks, improve performance, and evolve our infrastructure before problems become incidents.
What We're Looking For
Required 6+ years of backend engineering experience, with a track record of operating at Staff level or as a technical lead on complex, production systems. Deep expertise in SSO, SAML, and OIDC — you've built or owned identity and authentication systems, not just consumed them. Broad understanding of identity provider (IdP) architecture and enterprise auth patterns. Strong proficiency in Python with experience in FastAPI or similar modern frameworks. Deep knowledge of distributed systems design, database architecture, and scaling strategies. Hands-on experience with SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g., Postgres, Supabase, SQLAlchemy). Strong command of cloud infrastructure (AWS: EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes). Comfort operating in a fast-paced startup where priorities shift and impact is immediate. Experience with entitlements management, usage-based metering, or billing systems (e.g., Stripe Billing, Lago, or custom metering pipelines). Why Join Stack AI You'll join a lean, high-impact engineering team where you own a major slice of our technical future. This role is for someone who wants to architect complex systems at scale, mentor a growing team, and play a defining role in how AI workflows are built and delivered to thousands of organizations. Stack AI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.