Founding Backend Software Engineer - VC Backed Startups (Senior/Staff)

Join SignalFire’s Talent Network for Founding Back-end Software Engineer Roles at VC-Backed Startups

At SignalFire, we partner with top early-stage startups that are shaping the future of technology. Our portfolio spans 200+ innovative companies across AI, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS.

We’re looking to connect with exceptional Backend Engineers who are excited about joining high-growth startups as founding team members. By joining SignalFire’s Talent Network, your profile will be shared with our portfolio companies, giving you visibility into exclusive early-stage opportunities that may not be publicly listed.

💡 This is not an application for a specific job. Instead, this is a way to get on the radar of VC-backed startups that are actively hiring AI/ML talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to talentnetwork@signalfire.com.

Who Should Join?

We’re looking for engineers who are:

✔ Passionate about backend architecture and scalable distributed systems

✔ Excited about joining early-stage startups and working directly with founders

✔ Interested in building APIs, microservices, and cloud infrastructure

Typical Roles & Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend systems with a focus on scalability and performance
• Develop high-performance APIs, microservices, and cloud-based architectures
• Optimize databases and data pipelines for reliability and efficiency
• Collaborate with founders to define technical strategy and align it with business goals
• Ensure backend infrastructure is secure, fault-tolerant, and cost-efficient
• Establish best practices for software development, DevOps, and infrastructure management

Common Qualifications

While each startup has its own hiring criteria, many founding backend engineering roles in our network look for:

• 3+ years of experience as a backend engineer, with a proven track record of shipping production systems
• Expertise in backend frameworks (Node.js, Django, Flask, Ruby on Rails, FastAPI, Spring Boot)
• Strong understanding of databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis) and data modeling
• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Proficiency in backend programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, Node.js, or Ruby
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code tools
• Experience in early-stage startups or lean teams is a plus

💡 Technologies You Might Work With:

• Languages & Frameworks: Python, Golang, Java, JavaScript (Node.js), Ruby, Django, Flask, FastAPI, Ruby on Rails, Spring Boot
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis
• Cloud & DevOps: AWS (Lambda, EC2, S3, RDS), GCP (Cloud Run, Firestore), Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub Actions
• Other Tools: REST APIs, GraphQL, WebSockets, Kafka, RabbitMQ, Elasticsearch

What Happens Next?

• Submit your application to join SignalFire’s Talent Ecosystem.
• We review applications on an ongoing basis to identify strong candidates.
• If there’s a match, a SignalFire talent partner or a leader from one of our startups may reach out directly.
• No match yet? We’ll keep your profile on file for future backend engineering roles in our portfolio.

Compensation Range: $170K - $250K