Backend Engineer

You’ll build and scale the systems that power Pocket’s AI experience, from real-time transcription pipelines to cloud sync and intelligent APIs. You’ll work closely with our mobile and AI teams to make Pocket faster, more reliable, and infinitely scalable. This isn’t a founding role, but it’s core to the product. You’ll join a small, high-output team that ships at the level of world-class consumer tech companies. ### **What you'll own** **Backend Development** * Design and build RESTful APIs in Node.js and TypeScript (Express.js or Nest.js). * Architect and maintain PostgreSQL databases; optimize schema design and queries. * Implement background jobs and queues using Redis for ingestion, summarization, and notifications. * Build and maintain caching layers (Redis, CDN, HTTP cache) for low-latency responses. * Implement authentication, authorization, and data privacy best practices. * Add real-time capabilities (WebSockets, Server-Sent Events) for live sync and streaming. * Build observability into every service: logging, metrics, and tracing by default. * Deploy and manage backend services on AWS (EC2, ECS, RDS, S3, Lambda). **Systems & Architecture** * Design clean, maintainable service architectures with clear ownership boundaries. * Plan and execute safe database migrations and schema evolutions. * Ensure consistency and reliability across distributed systems. * Optimize performance across I/O, CPU, and memory bottlenecks. * Implement CI/CD pipelines and release automation (GitHub Actions, Docker). * Contribute to infrastructure reliability: scaling, monitoring, and cost efficiency. **Quality & Security** * Write unit, integration, and contract tests with clear coverage thresholds. * Enforce linting, type safety, and static analysis as part of CI. * Conduct security reviews and dependency audits; follow least-privilege design. * Document services, endpoints, and decision trade-offs clearly. ### **What we're looking for** **Technical Requirements** * 2+ years of backend experience with Node.js and TypeScript. * Strong understanding of PostgreSQL (schema design, indexing, query optimization). * Experience with Redis (caching, queues). * Hands-on AWS experience (EC2, RDS, Lambda, ECS, S3). * API design fluency: REST, real-time (WebSockets/SSE). * Strong fundamentals in scalability, concurrency, and distributed systems. * Comfort with Docker, Git workflows, and CI/CD automation. * Familiarity with security and performance best practices. **Nice to Have** * Experience with GraphQL or gRPC. * Exposure to event-driven architectures or microservices. * Familiarity with observability tools (OpenTelemetry, CloudWatch, Sentry). * Experience building for high-traffic consumer apps. **Technologies We Use** Backend: Node.js, TypeScript (Express/Nest.js), PostgreSQL, Redis Cloud: AWS (EC2, RDS, Lambda, S3, ECS, CloudWatch) Infra: Docker, GitHub Actions, CI/CD ### **What we offer** * Work directly with us and learn fast * Direct impact on how the company operates day to day * High-trust, high-responsibility environment * Competitive compensation