[Remote] Staff Backend Platform Engineer

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Conversica is a remote-first company building AI-powered solutions that help businesses engage customers more effectively. They are seeking a Staff Backend Platform Engineer to set the technical direction for the production backend systems that power their next-generation AI platform, focusing on architecture and engineering standards. This role involves mentoring engineers, driving initiatives across teams, and making hands-on contributions to backend systems.ResponsibilitiesSet the technical direction for Conversica's backend platform, owning architecture decisions that span integrations, data, messaging, and orchestration across the entire systemDrive cross-functional initiatives that touch multiple engineering teams, partnering with AI Engineering, Product, and Integrations leadership to shape platform strategy and roadmapDefine and evolve org-wide engineering standards for backend service design, data modeling, integration patterns, observability, and operational excellenceIdentify systemic reliability, scalability, and performance risks across the platform and lead the engineering responseMentor senior and mid-level engineers across the backend organization, raising the technical bar through design reviews, written technical guidance, and pairing on hard problemsRepresent the backend platform in technical strategy discussions with executive leadership and contribute to multi-quarter roadmap planningBuild and ship production code yourself; this is a hands-on individual contributor role, not a pure architect roleIntegration platform: inbound and outbound data processors, partner APIs, webhook ingestion, CSV bulk imports, sync logic, and resilient retry/backoff patterns for unreliable external systemsMessaging infrastructure: email (AWS SES), SMS (Twilio), and chat (OpenAI Chatkit) delivery pipelines including throughput management, deliverability, suppression, and audit trailsPlatform services: the Campaign, Playbook, Flows, Contact, Knowledge, and Reporting services that compose our domain modeData foundations: Postgres schema design, data models for contacts, conversations, campaigns, and configuration. Storage patterns optimized for both transactional workloads and agent retrievalOrchestration and event flows: FastAPI services, Celery workflows, EventBridge-driven event handling, queue management, and the action dispatch layer that executes agent decisions across CRM, calendar, and notification systemsSkillsEquivalent of 8+ years of professional software engineering experience with significant focus on backend platform, integrations, or data infrastructure - including hands-on responsibility for systems running in production at scaleTrack record of leading cross-team or org-wide technical initiatives from conception through production, including the soft work of building consensus and unblocking other engineersProven experience deploying and operating production backend systems at scaleStrong proficiency in Python, including production experience with FastAPI, Celery, and similar async/queue-based frameworksDeep experience with Postgres including schema design, query optimization, and operating Postgres in productionExperience working with large datasets and navigating real-world data quality challenges across heterogeneous source systemsExperience setting engineering standards (service design, data architecture, operational practices) that other engineers adopted and built onExperience designing and operating integrations with third-party SaaS systems including handling rate limits, schema drift, and partial failuresStrong background in modern cloud-based architectures, particularly AWSActive use of modern AI coding tools (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, or similar) as part of your development workflowExperience working in B2B SaaS environmentsExperience integrating with Marketing Automation Platforms (MAPs), Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMs), Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), or Dealer Management Systems (DMS)Production experience with Terraform, EKS, Datadog, and GitLabExperience operating messaging infrastructure including SMTP, SMS aggregators, or chat platformsExperience building platforms that AI agents or other automated systems consumeExperience with Redshift, DynamoDB, EventBridge, and RedisBenefitsComprehensive health, dental, and vision benefitsPTOHoliday pay401(k)EquityCompany OverviewConversica creates intelligent virtual assistants to serve as virtual team members. It was founded in 2007, and is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA, with a workforce of 51-200 employees. Its website is http://www.conversica.com.Company H1B SponsorshipConversica has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 4 in 2024, 2 in 2023, 3 in 2021, 1 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.