{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"4403b4affc434ca2556cab19","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/4403b4affc434ca2556cab19","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/4403b4affc434ca2556cab19","title":"Staff Backend Software Engineer - API Platform","description":"Location\r\nSan Francisco, New York City, Seattle\r\nEmployment Type\r\nFull time\r\nLocation Type\r\nHybrid\r\nDepartment\r\nPlatform & Infrastructure\r\nCompensation\r\n$180K – $300K • Offers Equity\r\nPerplexity is redefining how people search, reason, and interact with information. Our API team sits at the core of this vision, designing and operating the high-performance interfaces that expose Perplexity's intelligence to developers, enterprises, and products worldwide. This team owns the architecture, reliability, and security of the APIs that power everything from real-time LLM queries to enterprise-scale integrations.\r\nAs a Staff Backend Engineer, you will shape the technical foundation of Perplexity's external platform. You'll architect distributed systems, optimize performance at scale, and set engineering standards that ensure our APIs are fast, resilient, and a delight to build on.\r\nTech Stack: Python | Go | PostgreSQL | DynamoDB | Redis | FastAPI | React | Bazel | GitHub | AWS\r\nKey Responsibilities\r\nDesign, build, and operate mission-critical APIs in Python, Go, or Rust optimized for low latency, high throughput, and strong consistency.\r\nLead major technical initiatives, from new platform components to multi-team system redesigns.\r\nImprove system reliability and security by implementing rate limiting, authentication, observability (metrics, tracing, logging), and automated testing.\r\nCollaborate 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.\r\nUphold engineering excellence through design reviews, code quality, and internal documentation.\r\nQualifications\r\n5+ years of backend engineering experience with Python, Go, or Rust.\r\nStrong understanding of high-traffic API design: versioning, schema evolution, idempotency, auth patterns, and performance tuning.\r\nHands-on experience running AWS services, plus fluency with Kubernetes, CI/CD, and modern DevOps practices.\r\nExperience with LLM or natural-language APIs (latency tuning, streaming, model orchestration) is a strong plus.\r\nStrong customer empathy and product sense, ensuring the APIs you build are ergonomic, well-documented, and easy to adopt.\r\nCompensation & Benefits\r\nOur compensation range for this role is $180,000 - $300,000\r\nFinal offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.\r\nEquity: In addition to the base salary, equity may be part of the total compensation package.\r\nBenefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents. Includes a 401(k) plan.\r\nCompensation Range: $180K - $300K\r\nJ-18808-Ljbffr","company":"Pantera Capital","rawCompany":"pantera capital","city":"Millbrae","state":"CA","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-04-09T15:30:13.983Z","occupations":[{"code":"15-1252.00","title":"Software Developers","slug":"software-developers"},{"code":"15-1299.08","title":"Computer Systems Engineers/Architects","slug":"computer-systems-engineers-architects"},{"code":"15-1254.00","title":"Web Developers","slug":"web-developers"}],"industries":[{"code":"513210","title":"Software Publishers","slug":"software-publishers"},{"code":"541512","title":"Computer Systems Design Services","slug":"computer-systems-design-services"},{"code":"541511","title":"Custom Computer Programming Services","slug":"custom-computer-programming-services"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Staff Backend Software Engineer - API Platform","description":"Location\r\nSan Francisco, New York City, Seattle\r\nEmployment Type\r\nFull time\r\nLocation Type\r\nHybrid\r\nDepartment\r\nPlatform & Infrastructure\r\nCompensation\r\n$180K – $300K • Offers Equity\r\nPerplexity is redefining how people search, reason, and interact with information. Our API team sits at the core of this vision, designing and operating the high-performance interfaces that expose Perplexity's intelligence to developers, enterprises, and products worldwide. This team owns the architecture, reliability, and security of the APIs that power everything from real-time LLM queries to enterprise-scale integrations.\r\nAs a Staff Backend Engineer, you will shape the technical foundation of Perplexity's external platform. You'll architect distributed systems, optimize performance at scale, and set engineering standards that ensure our APIs are fast, resilient, and a delight to build on.\r\nTech Stack: Python | Go | PostgreSQL | DynamoDB | Redis | FastAPI | React | Bazel | GitHub | AWS\r\nKey Responsibilities\r\nDesign, build, and operate mission-critical APIs in Python, Go, or Rust optimized for low latency, high throughput, and strong consistency.\r\nLead major technical initiatives, from new platform components to multi-team system redesigns.\r\nImprove system reliability and security by implementing rate limiting, authentication, observability (metrics, tracing, logging), and automated testing.\r\nCollaborate 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.\r\nUphold engineering excellence through design reviews, code quality, and internal documentation.\r\nQualifications\r\n5+ years of backend engineering experience with Python, Go, or Rust.\r\nStrong understanding of high-traffic API design: versioning, schema evolution, idempotency, auth patterns, and performance tuning.\r\nHands-on experience running AWS services, plus fluency with Kubernetes, CI/CD, and modern DevOps practices.\r\nExperience with LLM or natural-language APIs (latency tuning, streaming, model orchestration) is a strong plus.\r\nStrong customer empathy and product sense, ensuring the APIs you build are ergonomic, well-documented, and easy to adopt.\r\nCompensation & Benefits\r\nOur compensation range for this role is $180,000 - $300,000\r\nFinal offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.\r\nEquity: In addition to the base salary, equity may be part of the total compensation package.\r\nBenefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents. Includes a 401(k) plan.\r\nCompensation Range: $180K - $300K\r\nJ-18808-Ljbffr","datePosted":"2026-04-09T15:30:13.983Z","dateModified":"2026-04-09T15:30:13.983Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Pantera Capital","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Millbrae","addressRegion":"CA","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"4403b4affc434ca2556cab19"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/4403b4affc434ca2556cab19"}}