Senior Backend Engineer
Teak · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $150,000 / year
- United States
Tailored resume — keyword-matched to this role.
Hiring manager — we find who's hiring.
Intro email — drafted to reach them directly.
Job highlights
- Design and build cloud-native systems at scale.
- Develop backend services and APIs for millions of users.
- Optimize performance and infrastructure on AWS.
- Collaborate on system architecture and code quality.
- Leverage AI tools for development acceleration.
About the role
About Teak
Teak is reinventing refunds, striving to make every experience refundable. Our strength lies in our proprietary Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) embedded refund protection platform, which provides massive distribution and a top-tier digital purchasing experience for insurance carriers, event organizers, booking platforms, ticketing systems, and their consumers. Our e-commerce solution is embedded in millions of carts each month.
Job Summary
We're seeking a talented Senior Backend Engineer to join our high-performing team. You will design and develop cloud-native systems that power the Teak platform, serving millions of users and processing hundreds of millions of events daily. This role requires a deep understanding of system architecture, cloud infrastructure, and performance. You'll work independently, take ownership, and actively collaborate with teammates through code reviews, technical discussions, and daily syncs. This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful impact at a rapidly growing technology company working at significant scale.
Key Responsibilities:
- System Architecture: Contribute to the design of scalable, resilient backend systems and microservices. Evaluate architectural trade-offs, help define service boundaries, and bring strong architectural instincts that elevate team discussions and code reviews.
- Cloud Infrastructure & Operations: Build and operate cloud-native systems on AWS. Work across services like ECS, RDS, ElastiCache, SQS, Lambda, and CloudWatch to build reliable, scalable, and observable infrastructure.
- Performance Engineering: Apply performance expertise across the stack — from database query plans and indexing strategies to caching layers and async processing pipelines. Proactively surface and address bottlenecks as part of the development process.
- API & Backend Development: Design and develop APIs, microservices, and backend services that power applications used by millions of users, processing hundreds of millions of events each day.
- Platform Improvement: Devise new approaches to solve problems, refactor, and optimize services to continuously improve the Teak platform.
- Code Quality & Standards: Participate in code reviews with a focus on architectural principles and performance best practices, and write comprehensive automated tests to ensure system reliability.
- Technical Documentation: Document architectural decisions, system design, and performance findings to support team knowledge sharing and long-term maintainability.
- Agile Participation: Take part in sprint planning, estimation, retrospectives, and daily standups as part of our Agile workflow.
- Production Support: Participate in on-call rotation and troubleshoot production issues as they arise, applying systematic root-cause analysis.
- AI-Augmented Development: Leverage AI coding tools, agentic workflows, and MCP servers to accelerate development, improve code quality, and explore automation opportunities across the stack. Help evaluate and integrate AI capabilities, including LLM APIs and MCP-based tooling, into backend services and internal workflows as adoption continues to grow.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 5+ years of professional Python development experience.
- 3+ years building production applications with Django or similar CMS frameworks.
- Demonstrated experience contributing to the design and architecture of high-volume, distributed backend systems.
- Hands-on experience building and operating production systems on AWS (ECS, RDS, SQS, CloudWatch, or similar services).
- Strong knowledge of PostgreSQL, including query optimization, indexing strategies, and performance tuning at scale.
- Hands-on experience with caching strategies (Redis, Memcached) and asynchronous task processing.
- Track record of diagnosing and resolving complex performance bottlenecks in production environments.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain architectural decisions and technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- This is a fully remote position. Candidates must have a reliable internet connection and an appropriate home office workspace.
Bonus Skills:
- Experience with Django Ninja or similar API frameworks.
- Experience with Celery or similar distributed task queues.
- Hands-on experience with AI coding tools (e.g. Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) and familiarity with agentic development workflows or LLM API integration.
- Hands-on experience with AI coding tools (e.g. Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot), agentic development workflows, and familiarity with MCP servers, consuming existing ones and building custom integrations against internal tools and APIs.
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform, CDK, or similar).
- Experience with observability tooling (APM, distributed tracing, structured logging) to support performance investigation.
- Ability to quickly learn and model complex business domains.
What We Offer:
- Fully Remote Working Environment
- Competitive Salary and Equity Opportunities
- Unlimited Paid Time-off
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
- Annual Bonus Program
- 401k Matching
- $100/month for Event Ticket Purchase
- Company Sponsored Events
Key skills/competency
- Backend Development
- System Architecture
- Cloud Infrastructure
- AWS
- Python
- PostgreSQL
- Performance Engineering
- API Design
- Microservices
- Django
Skills & topics
- Backend Engineer
- Python
- Django
- AWS
- Cloud
- Microservices
- System Architecture
- PostgreSQL
- Performance Engineering
- Remote
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight Python, Django, AWS, and system architecture experience relevant to Teak's needs.
- Showcase your impact: Quantify achievements in backend development, performance tuning, and cloud operations.
- Prepare for technical interviews: Be ready to discuss system design, database optimization, and AWS services.
- Demonstrate collaboration: Emphasize teamwork, code reviews, and problem-solving in past roles.
- Address remote work: Confirm your ability to work effectively in a fully remote environment.
Technical preparation
Practice complex Python algorithms and data structures.,Design scalable microservice architectures.,Optimize PostgreSQL queries and indexing.,Build and deploy applications on AWS.
Behavioral questions
Describe a challenging system architecture problem.,How do you handle performance bottlenecks?,Share an experience of collaborative development.,How do you approach technical documentation?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the typical career progression for a Senior Backend Engineer at Teak?
- While specific paths vary, a Senior Backend Engineer at Teak can often grow into a Staff Engineer or Tech Lead role, focusing on complex system design and technical strategy. Opportunities may also exist to move into management roles or specialize further in areas like cloud architecture or AI integration, depending on individual career goals and business needs.
- What are the primary technologies used by the backend team at Teak?
- The backend team at Teak primarily utilizes Python and Django for application development. They build and operate cloud-native systems on AWS, leveraging services such as ECS, RDS, ElastiCache, SQS, Lambda, and CloudWatch. PostgreSQL is their database of choice, complemented by caching strategies using Redis or Memcached and asynchronous task processing.
- How does Teak support professional development for its Senior Backend Engineers?
- Teak encourages continuous learning through opportunities like participation in AI-augmented development, exposure to cutting-edge cloud technologies, and active engagement in technical discussions and code reviews. The company also offers competitive compensation and benefits, supporting growth through challenging projects and a collaborative environment.
- What is the on-call rotation like for this Senior Backend Engineer role?
- As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will participate in an on-call rotation to troubleshoot production issues. The exact frequency and structure of this rotation are typically discussed during the interview process, but it involves applying systematic root-cause analysis to resolve live system problems.
- What is Teak's approach to work-life balance, especially for a remote role?
- Teak promotes work-life balance with a fully remote working environment and unlimited paid time off. The company culture emphasizes ownership and efficiency, allowing team members to manage their time effectively while ensuring critical tasks and on-call responsibilities are met.
- How does Teak leverage AI in its backend development processes?
- Teak actively integrates AI into its backend development. This includes leveraging AI coding tools (like GitHub Copilot), exploring agentic workflows, and potentially integrating LLM APIs and MCP-based tooling into services. The goal is to accelerate development, enhance code quality, and identify automation opportunities.
- What kind of impact can a Senior Backend Engineer have at Teak?
- A Senior Backend Engineer at Teak can have a significant impact by designing and developing scalable, resilient systems that process millions of events daily. You'll influence system architecture, optimize performance at scale, and contribute to a platform that is fundamentally changing the refund process for consumers and businesses.
Similar roles
Open positions we recommend based on this role.