Member of Technical Staff – Backend Software Engineer, API Platform

Perplexity

API Platform Engineer creating and maintaining robust APIs for a core AI-driven product. Focusing on system reliability, security, and exceptional engineering standards.

Posted 4/24/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $250,000 - $405,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSGoKubernetesPythonRust

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design, build, and operate mission-critical APIs in Python, Go, or Rust optimized for low latency, high throughput, and strong consistency.
Lead major technical initiatives, from new platform components to multi-team system redesigns.
Improve system reliability and security by implementing rate limiting, authentication, observability (metrics, tracing, logging), and automated testing.
Collaborate across teams to determine when to extend existing systems versus build new, specialized services.
Translate customer needs into scalable platform capabilities and generalized API features.
Uphold engineering excellence through design reviews, code quality, and internal documentation.

Requirements

What you’ll need

5+ years of backend engineering experience with Python, Go, or Rust.
Strong understanding of high-traffic API design: versioning, schema evolution, idempotency, auth patterns, and performance tuning.
Hands-on experience running AWS services, plus fluency with Kubernetes, CI/CD, and modern DevOps practices.
Experience with LLM or natural-language APIs (latency tuning, streaming, model orchestration) is a strong plus.
Strong customer empathy and product sense, ensuring the APIs you build are ergonomic, well-documented, and easy to adopt.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.
Includes a 401(k) plan.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

PythonGoRustAPI designrate limitingauthenticationobservabilityautomated testingperformance tuningLLM

Soft Skills

leadershipcollaborationcustomer empathyproduct senseengineering excellence