Senior/Staff Backend Software Engineer

GridCARE

$184K — $284K *
Enterprise Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Experience architecting and operating cloud native real-time backend systems that are highly available, reliable, secure, and scalable.
  • Strong fundamentals in software architecture, distributed systems, concurrency, and security.
  • Proficiency in a backend programming language, particularly Python.
  • Experience with REST/gRPC API design and event-driven architectures.
  • Knowledge of time series data, real-time streaming, and relational and non-relational databases like Kafka and TimescaleDB.
  • Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipeline development for production operations.
  • Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot.

Responsibilities

  • Build a cloud native backend platform that is reliable, real time, scalable, and secure.
  • Design for continuous deployment and safe updates of live mission-critical infrastructure.
  • Lead initiatives for code quality and engineering excellence, including automated testing and performance tuning.
  • Own architectural decisions focusing on scalability and fault tolerance for on-premises deployments.
  • Collaborate with data scientists and engineers to transition AI solutions from prototype to production.
  • Manage services end to end, from design through deployment and ongoing operations.

Benefits

  • Competitive salary, performance bonus, and equity.
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
  • Lunch provided three days a week in the office.
  • Hybrid schedule: 3 days in office, 2 days remote.
  • Access to academic, industry, and government partners in the AI-energy ecosystem.
  • Join a mission-driven team focused on energy transition.
Full Job Description
Job Description

We're looking for a product engineer with infrastructure instincts and a platform mindset. You'll build a cloud-based system that manages and operates data centers for some of the largest AI compute providers in the world, the kind of infrastructure that powers the leading cloud and chip companies driving the AI boom. You'll be the one owning the architecture, the decisions, and how it runs in production. Reliability isn't optional. When it's live, it has to stay live, stay accurate, and update safely without ever putting a customer's infrastructure at risk.

While the role is open to engineers at different stages of their career, it is best suited for an experienced Senior to Staff-level engineer who can independently architect, build, and operate mission-critical backend systems in production. What matters most is depth: real experience in architecting, implementing, tuning, and debugging real time systems that have to run reliably in production, and genuine curiosity about growing that depth into broader platform and infrastructure ownership as GridCARE scales. We're hiring for talent and fit over a specific title, industry background, or years of experience, and will calibrate the final level and scope to the individual.
Responsibilities
  • Build a cloud native backend platform that is reliable, real time, scalable, and secure, including:
    • Time series data storage and retrieval
    • Real time streaming and event processing
    • Integrations with simulation, forecasting, optimization, and market modules
  • Design for continuous deployment and safe updates to live, mission critical infrastructure, so systems keep running without disruption or unexpected side effects.
  • Lead code quality and engineering excellence: automated testing, continuous deployment, CI/CD pipeline development, performance tuning, and system observability.
  • Own architecture decisions with a focus on scalability, fault tolerance, cybersecurity, and suitability for on premises control center deployments.
  • Collaborate across disciplines, working alongside data scientists, power systems engineers, and DevOps teams to bring AI driven solutions from prototype to production in mission critical environments.
  • Own services end to end, from design through deployment and ongoing operation.


Qualifications

Required
  • Experience architecting, implementing, and operating cloud native, real time backend systems that are highly available, reliable, secure, and scalable.
  • Strong software architecture, distributed systems, concurrency, and security fundamentals.
  • Proficiency in at least one backend language, e.g., Python.
  • Strong experience with REST/gRPC API design and event-driven architectures.
  • Experience with time series data, real time streaming, and databases across relational and non relational systems (e.g., Kafka, MQTT, TimescaleDB, or similar).
  • Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, and production operations.
  • Experience with AI assisted development tools such as Cursor, CodeRabbit, Claude, GitHub Copilot, or similar.
  • Strong collaboration and communication skills, comfortable prioritizing and working cross functionally in a startup environment with limited guidance and evolving requirements.

Preferred
  • Someone who's passionate about making a real difference in the world.
  • An entrepreneurial self starter with a focus on scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions.
  • Background in energy, climate tech, power systems, or other complex infrastructure domains, including grid operations.
  • Experience with industrial telemetry systems such as SCADA or Ignition.
Location
  • Redwood City, CA


What We Offer
  • Competitive salary, performance bonus, and equity.
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
  • Lunch is provided three days a week in the office.
  • Hybrid schedule: 3 days in office for collaboration, 2 days remote for focused work.
  • Access to leading academic, industry, and government partners in the AI-energy ecosystem.
  • A mission-driven team focused on shaping the future of the energy transition.


Salary Range

$184,000 - $284,000

Join us in tackling one of the most important infrastructure challenges of our time - enabling the energy foundation for the age of AI.

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