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

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

🛑 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 Engineering talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to [email protected].

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 Founding Backend Engineers who are excited about building scalable, high-performance systems at early-stage startups. 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.

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.