Senior Backend Software Developer - AI Team

Job Summary
Our client, a leading financial services organization, is seeking a Senior Backend Software Developer - AI Team to join a high-impact engineering team focused on building advanced AI-powered document processing solutions. This role will play a key part in designing, developing, and optimizing backend systems that leverage Large Language Models (LLMs), document extraction technologies, and modern cloud-based AI services to transform unstructured data into actionable insights. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in Python backend development, API design, database architecture, and AI application development. This position will contribute to the design of scalable AI-powered features, improve system reliability and performance, develop evaluation frameworks for LLM-based solutions, and collaborate closely with a distributed agile team. Experience building agentic AI frameworks and a strong understanding of LLM architecture and components are highly valued.

Core Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend services and APIs using Python, FastAPI, and asynchronous programming patterns
• Build and enhance AI-powered application features leveraging Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, embedding models, and document extraction technologies
• Design and optimize PostgreSQL database schemas, queries, and migration strategies to support scalable application performance
• Architect and implement LLM evaluation frameworks, prompt optimization strategies, and model performance monitoring, including drift detection
• Develop production-ready, strongly typed Python code following software engineering best practices
• Create and maintain comprehensive unit and integration test suites with high code coverage using pytest
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to technical design discussions to ensure code quality, maintainability, and system reliability
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver scalable AI solutions in a distributed team environment
• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to application architecture, performance, observability, and operational excellence

Required Qualifications (Must-Haves)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years of professional software development experience
• Strong proficiency in Python (3.10+), including development of production-grade backend applications, asynchronous programming with async/await, and implementation of software engineering best practices
• Hands-on experience designing and developing RESTful APIs using FastAPI, including the use of Pydantic, dependency injection, and scalable backend architecture patterns
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL, including schema design, query optimization, indexing strategies, performance tuning, and database migrations
• Experience integrating and developing applications with Large Language Models (LLMs), including OpenAI and Azure OpenAI services
• Experience building AI-powered applications utilizing embedding models, prompt engineering, and LLM-driven workflows
• Experience designing and implementing LLM evaluation frameworks, golden datasets, model performance testing, and prompt optimization processes
• Knowledge of core LLM concepts and components, including tokenization, embeddings, context windows, caching, and model behavior analysis
• Experience developing automated test suites, unit tests, and integration tests using pytest with a strong focus on code quality and coverage
• Strong understanding of code quality practices, including type annotations, linting, automated testing, and code review processes
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work independently in a distributed, agile team environment

Preferred Qualifications (Nice-to-Haves)

• Experience building agentic AI frameworks or agent orchestration/harness solutions from the ground up
• Experience with Azure Document Intelligence, document extraction platforms, and unstructured document processing solutions
• Experience supporting Named Entity Recognition (NER) or other document understanding and information extraction applications
• Familiarity with repository-pattern architectures and scalable service-oriented backend design
• Experience implementing AI observability, monitoring, model evaluation, and drift detection frameworks
• Experience developing enterprise-grade AI solutions leveraging Azure cloud services

Key Competencies & Behaviors

• AI Solution Architecture
• Backend System Design
• Analytical Problem Solving
• Technical Ownership
• Code Quality Focus
• Continuous Improvement
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Independent Execution
• Agile Teamwork
• Clear Communication

• Location: Cupertino, CA
• Work Model: Remote

• Pay Range: The approximate pay range for this position is between $50.00 and $72.00. Please note that the pay range provided is a good faith estimate. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to background, knowledge, skills, and location. We comply with local wage minimums.
• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance Plans
• Employee-Owned Profit Sharing (ESOP)
• 401K offered