- Job title
- Backend Engineer
- Job location
- San Francisco, CA, US / Remote
- Job description
- You’ll build and scale the systems that power Pocket’s AI experience, from real-time transcription pipelines to cloud sync and intelligent APIs.
You’ll work closely with our mobile and AI teams to make Pocket faster, more reliable, and infinitely scalable. This isn’t a founding role, but it’s core to the product. You’ll join a small, high-output team that ships at the level of world-class consumer tech companies.
### **What you'll own**
**Backend Development**
* Design and build RESTful APIs in Node.js and TypeScript (Express.js or Nest.js).
* Architect and maintain PostgreSQL databases; optimize schema design and queries.
* Implement background jobs and queues using Redis for ingestion, summarization, and notifications.
* Build and maintain caching layers (Redis, CDN, HTTP cache) for low-latency responses.
* Implement authentication, authorization, and data privacy best practices.
* Add real-time capabilities (WebSockets, Server-Sent Events) for live sync and streaming.
* Build observability into every service: logging, metrics, and tracing by default.
* Deploy and manage backend services on AWS (EC2, ECS, RDS, S3, Lambda).
**Systems & Architecture**
* Design clean, maintainable service architectures with clear ownership boundaries.
* Plan and execute safe database migrations and schema evolutions.
* Ensure consistency and reliability across distributed systems.
* Optimize performance across I/O, CPU, and memory bottlenecks.
* Implement CI/CD pipelines and release automation (GitHub Actions, Docker).
* Contribute to infrastructure reliability: scaling, monitoring, and cost efficiency.
**Quality & Security**
* Write unit, integration, and contract tests with clear coverage thresholds.
* Enforce linting, type safety, and static analysis as part of CI.
* Conduct security reviews and dependency audits; follow least-privilege design.
* Document services, endpoints, and decision trade-offs clearly.
### **What we're looking for**
**Technical Requirements**
* 2+ years of backend experience with Node.js and TypeScript.
* Strong understanding of PostgreSQL (schema design, indexing, query optimization).
* Experience with Redis (caching, queues).
* Hands-on AWS experience (EC2, RDS, Lambda, ECS, S3).
* API design fluency: REST, real-time (WebSockets/SSE).
* Strong fundamentals in scalability, concurrency, and distributed systems.
* Comfort with Docker, Git workflows, and CI/CD automation.
* Familiarity with security and performance best practices.
**Nice to Have**
* Experience with GraphQL or gRPC.
* Exposure to event-driven architectures or microservices.
* Familiarity with observability tools (OpenTelemetry, CloudWatch, Sentry).
* Experience building for high-traffic consumer apps.
**Technologies We Use**
Backend: Node.js, TypeScript (Express/Nest.js), PostgreSQL, Redis
Cloud: AWS (EC2, RDS, Lambda, S3, ECS, CloudWatch)
Infra: Docker, GitHub Actions, CI/CD
### **What we offer**
* Work directly with us and learn fast
* Direct impact on how the company operates day to day
* High-trust, high-responsibility environment
* Competitive compensation
