Job Specifications
Backend Software Engineer
Location: Palo Alto, CA (Hybrid – Tues–Thurs in office)
Compensation: $170 to $215k base
About the Company
Our client is a fast-growing, seed-stage startup building next-generation healthcare technology powered by generative AI. In under two years, they’ve achieved remarkable traction — deploying automation solutions across major hospital systems and surpassing $5M ARR, with projections to more than double that this year. The company is well-funded ($30M+ seed round, $100M valuation) and backed by leading investors in the AI and healthcare sectors.
Their mission: to build the secure, scalable infrastructure that enables safe, verified AI applications across healthcare enterprises.
The Role
They are seeking a Backend Engineer to design and build the distributed systems that power the company’s core automation platform. You’ll be responsible for developing highly reliable microservices, APIs, and workflow orchestration logic that serve healthcare clients at scale.
This role is open to mid-level to senior engineers — ideally candidates with 3–10+ years of backend or platform experience — who want to work on technically challenging systems alongside a world-class team (including alumni from Google, Adobe, Waymo, and C3.ai).
Key Responsibilities
Design, develop, and scale backend microservices using Python (FastAPI) and Postgres on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Build and optimize REST APIs, asynchronous workflows, and distributed data processing systems.
Partner with AI and data teams to integrate ML-powered automation into production services.
Contribute to architecture design discussions around scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
Work cross-functionally with DevOps, product, and infra teams to deliver production-grade systems.
Tech Stack
Languages: Python (FastAPI); exposure to Java, Go, or C is a plus
Database: PostgreSQL
Cloud: GCP
Infra-as-Code: Terraform (optional, not required)
Ideal Candidate Profile
3–10+ years of backend or platform engineering experience
Strong understanding of distributed systems, microservices architecture, and systems design
Proven experience building scalable, production-grade applications
Solid Computer Science fundamentals (top academic or industry background preferred)
Clear track record of impact (quantifiable achievements on resume)
Demonstrated technical passion — e.g., open-source contributions, side projects, or competitive programming
Background in healthcare or AI is not required
Bonus Skills
Familiarity with DevOps tools (Terraform, CI/CD pipelines)
Experience with asynchronous/event-driven systems (Pub/Sub, Kafka)
Knowledge of large-scale data pipelines or streaming architectures
Culture & Environment
Collaborative, high-output team culture — engineers have full ownership and autonomy
No bureaucracy, no ego — just problem-solvers building together
Leadership values impact, clarity, and accountability
Team of ~40 engineers, with 14–15 on the platform side
About the Company
Proven experience recruiting for technical talent with speed, precision and no bull. We connect quality candidates to quality teams across Artificial Intelligence, Software & Back End Engineering, Analytics, Product, and Marketing. AustinWorks is a boutique recruitment firm for people who care about quality over volume, clarity over fluff, and humans over headcount. If you're building something that matters - and you want to do it with the right people - let's connect - charlie@austinworks.co
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