Backend Engineer
.png)
About the role
If you have been exploring what’s possible with LLMs (especially if you’ve been collaborating on OSS models, datasets, and applications in places like the Hugging Face community)… if you have a passion for implementing DevOps best practices like service ownership & CI/CD... this job post is for you.
We are looking for a Backend Engineer who is enthusiastic about building scalable backend systems and interfacing with DevOps to manage operations with a keen eye for automation and security. You will play a pivotal role in developing our enterprise AI platform that helps knowledge workers be more effecitve in getting their jobs done. You’ll work alongside our AI experts to integrate our DistillAI algorithm into every aspect of the platform, and you’ll get to work at the API level with the leading LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face and others.
We believe in solid work, which for us means creating reliable, maintainable, and performant systems that stand the test of time. We value engineers who are meticulous in their craftsmanship and take pride in the code they write and the solutions they implement.
If you are someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about building technology that has a real impact, we would love to hear from you. Join us in our quest to transform the landscape of corporate storytelling and make a mark on the industry.
This role reports into: DROdio, CEO
Responsibilities
Top priorities: This is the kind of work you can expect to be doing as you come into this role — although we are all Crew, so we help each other succeed outside of these core priorities:
- Design and implement backend services with a focus on high availability, low latency, and scalability.
- Work with DevOps to:
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for rapid and reliable deployment of our software.
- Manage cloud infrastructure, ensuring robustness and security.
- Automate our operational processes as much as possible, with accuracy and in real-time.
- Monitor metrics and develop ways to improve the provision and deployment of the platform.
- Provide technical guidance and educate team members on development and operations.
Requirements
Skills required: This is our "must" list -- skills you'll need to be successful in the role
- Excellent understanding of Python and SQL
- Configuring and managing relational DBs using MySQL, Postgres, etc.
- Experience developing backend services using API frameworks like flask, fastAPI, etc.
- Experience with Docker and Git
- The backend needs to be rock-solid; APIs need to “just work always”
The ideal candidate also has: This is our "want" list -- The ideal candidate will also have these skills in addition to the minimums above, but we'd still love to talk to you even if you don't yet have these skills
- Experience with at least one of the following cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, Azure)
- Experience managing CI/CD pipelines (GH Actions, Jenkins, Argo, etc.)
What does "Great" look like for this role? This is how you'll know you're performing this job at a level of excellence
- Be able to deliver and execute with minimal guidance
- Operate with a growth mindset
- Ability to balance speed with long-term thinking
- Proactively thinking about system improvement and unblocking fellow team members
- Has adaptability & change agility — this is an ever-changing role with many surprises in store!
- Has a “User-focused” mindset.
- Knows what values users expect from our system
- Proactive in observing and leveraging emerging technologies
- Strong ownership, reliability, low ego, team enabler
Benefits
Assignments
Life at Storytell
Storytell is an early-stage venture-backed startup with some incredible investors including Eric Ries and Brian McClendon. We are looking for incredible people to join us.
We are building a remote-friendly company. The Founders are based in the San Francisco Bay area and we work in a distributed manner across several US time zones.
Learn about our Vision, Mission and Strategy
Our Shared Values:
We believe that being aligned on our shared values is the foundation of how we build, belong, and how we show up for each other and to the broader ecosystem. You can find our shared values here.
Don't Meet Every Single Requirement?
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Storytell we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
We offer you an opportunity to:
- Work directly with our C-level executive team
- Exercise your problem-solving skills
- Learn the fundamentals of a startup
- Grow in your career journey through support on many dimensions, such as:
- 1:1s
- Regular trainings
- Learning and practicing clean communication
- Build our systems and processes
- Make a huge contribution to the future of Storytell, AI – and the world!
- We will support you if you want to become a Founder someday
Apply to join our Crew
Learn about our unique hiring process
Other open positions
Engineering
Are you curious about the ways artificial intelligence could help humans be more effective at work and in life?
Would you like to help build a Collaborative Intelligence Platform that fosters an ambient enterprise knowledge environment where cross-functional teams gain and share collective intelligence through natural language conversations with their data, with the right information and insights always at their fingertips?
If you're as excited about making life meaningful by making work meaningful as we are, we'd love to meet you.
We believe in solid work, which for us means creating reliable, maintainable, and performant systems that stand the test of time. We value engineers who are meticulous in their craftsmanship and take pride in the code they write and the solutions they implement -- all while knowing when to "duct tape" and when to "gold plate" their code so we can build the right thing fast, instead of the wrong thing right.
If you are someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about building technology that has a real impact, we would love to hear from you. Join us in our quest to improve the effectiveness of knowledge workers and their teams, and in doing so, deepen the satisfaction and meaning we all get from our work and our lives.
This role reports into: DROdio, CEO
Growth
The Content Strategy and Outreach Coordinator is a dynamic role responsible for both organizing impactful events and driving content strategies that bolster Storytell’s brand and community engagement. This position bridges event management and content marketing, ensuring cohesive communication and strategic value across all initiatives.