Flagship Pioneering

Principal Backend Engineer

Flagship Pioneering$188K — $258K *
Enterprise Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of backend engineering experience.
  • Experience with high-velocity agentic coding under strict security requirements.
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent.
  • Strong expertise in backend languages (Node.js/TypeScript, Go, Python, etc.).
  • Experience designing scalable distributed systems and microservices.
  • Deep understanding of third-party integrations and REST/GraphQL APIs.
  • Proficiency in SQL/NoSQL databases and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate on AI agent development and optimization.
  • Design, build, and maintain scalable core backend systems.
  • Architect and manage large-scale data pipelines for analytics.
  • Build and support third-party vendor integrations.
  • Influence backend architecture and operational best practices.
  • Support other platform needs, including DevOps and troubleshooting.

Benefits

  • Healthcare coverage offered.
  • Annual incentive program available.
  • Retirement benefits included.
  • Broad range of additional benefits.
Full Job Description
THE ROLE

As a Principal Backend Engineer, you'll be a technical leader responsible for architecting, building, and scaling the core backend systems that power our agentic platform. You'll drive the design of high-throughput services, resilient data pipelines, real time agent clouds, and integrations with mission-critical third-party providers. You'll translate complex requirements into robust, elegant systems that support rapid growth. You'll be a key contributor to our technical strategy, helping evolve our platform architecture to maintain security and reliability as we scale.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
  • All things AI agents - from harness selection to prompt optimization and eval system, you'll work side by side with your teammates to deliver best in class agent experiences.
  • Own Core Backend Systems - Design, build, and maintain scalable services, APIs, and platform infrastructure. Ensure reliability, observability, and maintainability.
  • Build and Maintain Large-Scale Data Pipelines - Architect and operate high-volume, resilient data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and analytics.
  • Lead Third-Party Integrations - Build and maintain integrations with external vendors, ensuring reliability, observability, and long-term maintainability.
  • Influence Architecture & Best Practices - Shape backend architecture, coding standards, testing frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and operational excellence.
  • Wear Multiple Hats - Support DevOps, troubleshooting, or other platform needs when necessary.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS
  • 8+ years of backend engineering experience.
  • Experience with high velocity agentic coding under strict security requirements.
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Strong expertise in backend languages and frameworks (Node.js/TypeScript, Go, Python, or similar).
  • Experience designing scalable distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architectures.
  • Deep experience with third-party integrations, REST/GraphQL APIs, webhooks, and rate-limited services.
  • Proficiency with SQL/NoSQL databases, data pipelines, and performance optimization.
  • Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP) and containerized/deployed systems (Docker, Kubernetes).
  • Strong testing, CI/CD, and observability practices.
  • Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment with minimal oversight.

Nice to Have
  • Experience building and shipping features quickly in early-stage startups.
  • Exposure to multiple backend domains (analytics, payments, notifications, workflow orchestration).
  • Hands-on experience with serverless or edge architectures for rapid iteration.
  • Familiarity with low-friction integrations with third-party tools and SaaS platforms.
  • Track record of scaling systems from small MVPs to production-ready services.
  • Comfort with ambiguity and making trade-offs between speed, quality, and maintainability.


The salary range for this role is $188,000 - $258,500. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. Extuitive, Inc. currently offers healthcare coverage, annual incentive program, retirement benefits and a broad range of other benefits. Compensation and benefits information is based on Extuitive, Inc.'s good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering is a life sciences innovation enterprise that conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category life sciences companies. The firm operates through its Flagship Labs unit, which is a dedicated innovation foundry that invents and launches transformative companies. Flagship Pioneering has created over 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $34 billion in aggregate value, 500+ issued patents, and more than 50 clinical trials for novel therapeutic agents. The firm's portfolio includes companies in the fields of therapeutics, health technologies, and sustainability. Flagship Pioneering was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Learn more about Flagship Pioneering
Size
500 employees
Industry

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