Want to own the core APIs powering an AI product used by millions around the world? A fast-growing language learning startup (name currently under wraps 🤫) is gearing up for a pivotal 2025 and needs a Staff Engineer / API Lead to architect, build, and scale the heart of their platform.
If you're the kind of engineer who loves big technical challenges, thrives in high-output environments, and wants your work to have real human impact - this is the place.
What You’ll Do
- Own the design and evolution of the company’s core APIs, from architecture to implementation
- Build scalable, reliable backend services that power real-time, AI-driven learning experiences
- Lead technical direction across teams; set standards, review designs, mentor engineers
- Drive platform performance, observability, cost optimisation, and cloud infrastructure decisions
- Collaborate directly with product and engineering leadership to shape the roadmap
- Stay hands-on: writing high-impact code, improving systems, and solving tough technical problems
- You will literally own the backbone of the platform—the APIs that everything else relies on
- Join during a defining hyper-growth phase where technical decisions have huge leverage
- High autonomy, high trust, and the chance to influence engineering culture from the ground up
- Direct collaboration with founders and engineering leadership
- Mission-first environment focused on unlocking learning for kids everywhere
- 7–10 years of backend or distributed systems experience, ideally at scale
- Deep expertise with AWS, including services, architecture patterns, and cost-aware design
- Strong experience with Kubernetes, containers, and modern cloud infrastructure
- Proven experience designing and scaling APIs (REST, GraphQL, gRPC—any production-grade interface)
- Strong coding skills in Python, Go, or similar backend languages
- Experience influencing or leading technical direction across teams
- Startup-ready mindset: ownership, speed, and a bias for high-impact execution
- Bonus: Familiarity or interest in Rust for systems-level or performance-sensitive components
- A strategic thinker who still loves writing code
- Someone who enjoys architecting complex systems and making them elegant
- A force multiplier—your impact makes the whole team faster and better
- Comfortable in fast-paced, ambiguity-heavy environments
- Drawn to mission-driven work where the results matter
- Hyrbid in New York City (this role requires close collaboration with the founding and engineering teams)
- Full US work authorization required (no sponsorship)
