Backend Software Engineer
At a glance
Mid-level Backend Engineering role at Outset. San Francisco · full-time · $160,000–$300,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Shape technical choices and product direction with the CTO and CEO
- Build and tune backend services, APIs, and infrastructure for processing data in real time
- Improve the internal language model and technology that powers live interviews
- Take projects from early design through launch, keeping systems reliable and scalable
- Speak with users about their challenges and use their feedback to improve the product
What you bring
- At least three years developing production backend systems as a software engineer
- Strong Python and Django skills, including building dependable APIs
- Deep SQL database knowledge, ideally with Postgres
- Experience deploying and operating services on AWS
Who this fits
This mid-level, hands-on role suits a backend engineer who wants to own projects through production and work directly with users and company leaders. The position is hybrid in San Francisco.
From the employer
Outset invented a better way to do research: AI-powered user interviews.
Global brands like Hubspot, Microsoft, Uber and Nestle use Outset to achieve deeper, qualitative insights about their users at unprecedented speed and scale.
The research industry is massive (>$140B and growing) and ripe for disruption. Incumbents are outdated, slow, and burdened by high-cost services. That's our opportunity.
Outset is backed by top Silicon Valley investors and raised a $30M Series B in December 2025—less than six months after our Series A—led by Radical Ventures with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm), 8VC, Y Combinator, and Adverb Ventures.
The raise follows a breakout year, with our business growing 8x as enterprise customers across industries adopt our category, AI‑moderated research, as the new standard for understanding people.
We’re a tight-knit team serving some of the world’s largest enterprises.
What you will do:
Collaborate closely with the CTO and CEO on strategic technical decisions and product direction.
Design, develop, and optimize backend services, APIs, and real-time data processing infrastructure.
Implement and refine our in-house Large Language Model and real-time interview technology.
Lead projects from initial conception through production deployment, ensuring scalability and reliability.
Interface directly with users to gather feedback, understand pain points, and continuously improve our core product.
The ideal candidate will have:
3+ years of software engineering experience building production-grade backend systems.
Strong proficiency with Python and Django, including experience building robust APIs.
Extensive knowledge of SQL databases (Postgres preferred).
Experience deploying and managing services on AWS.
Bonus points for familiarity with WebRTC, real-time data streaming, or AI/ML infrastructure.
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Backend Engineering$160k+
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