Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, API Platform)

Perplexity AI2 days ago

Location

San Francisco

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 220,000 – 405,000

Level

Senior

Role

Backend Engineer

Posted

Jun 11, 2026

Full TimeSenior

The role

Summary

Perplexity AI is seeking a highly skilled Member of Technical Staff to join their API Platform engineering team, focusing on designing and scaling mission-critical APIs that deliver frontier intelligence to developers. The ideal candidate will work on cutting-edge distributed systems, performance optimization, and agent orchestration while prioritizing exceptional developer experience.

What you'll do

API Design and Implementation: Design, build, and operate mission-critical APIs that provide customers with building blocks for frontier intelligence.

Performance Optimization: Ensure low latency and high throughput through aggressive performance optimization, including optimizing upstream systems.

Future-Focused Architecture: Continually reimagine future customer needs and develop architectures to serve emerging technological requirements.

System Security and Reliability: Harden system security and reliability across heterogeneous compute environments.

Cross-Team Collaboration: Collaborate across teams to incorporate novel frontier capabilities into the API Platform and improve existing capabilities.

Engineering Excellence: Uphold high engineering standards through design reviews, code quality maintenance, and comprehensive internal documentation.

What we look for

Technical

Programming LanguagesProficiency in backend engineering with Python, Go, or Rust

API DesignDeep understanding of high-traffic API design, including schema evolution, versioning, idempotency, authentication, rate limiting, and performance tuning

Cloud InfrastructureHands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred) and modern DevOps practices

ContainerizationFluency with Kubernetes and container orchestration

Education

Computer ScienceBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field preferred

Experience

Backend Engineering5+ years of backend engineering experience

AI API ExperienceExperience with modern AI APIs, including latency tuning, streaming, and model orchestration

Skills

Required skills

Backend DevelopmentStrong backend engineering skills in Python, Go, or Rust

API DesignComprehensive understanding of API design principles and best practices

Cloud ComputingProficient in cloud infrastructure and DevOps methodologies

Nice to have

AI API DevelopmentExperience with AI API development, model orchestration, and emerging technical standards

Distributed SystemsKnowledge of distributed systems architecture and performance optimization

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 220,000 – 405,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity

Stock options or equity compensation offered

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — Preliminary review of application and resume
2
Technical Interview — In-depth technical assessment of engineering skills and experience
3
System Design Interview — Evaluation of candidate's ability to design scalable API systems and infrastructure
4
Cultural Fit Interview — Assessment of alignment with Perplexity AI's engineering culture and innovation mindset