Backend Engineer

ABOUT US

MindsDB is a fast-growing AI startup headquartered in San Francisco, California. As a leading innovator bringing AI and Data together, our passion is empowering companies to easily build AI capabilities that can Think, Understand and Orchestrate: enabling teams to move from prototyping & experimentation to production in a fast & scalable way.

MindsDB was founded in 2017 by Adam Carrigan and Jorge Torres, inspired by Ian M. Banks's Culture series, in which super AI systems called Minds collaborate with other forms of life to accomplish incredible goals. Starting as an Open-Source project, MindsDB has grown to be one of the most widely used AI-Data platforms in the world, with a growing community and more than 700 contributor developers from every corner of the globe.

We are backed with over $55M in funding from Mayfield, Benchmark, YCombinator, and nVidia. MindsDB is also recognized by Forbes as one of America's most promising AI companies (2021) and by Gartner as a Cool Vendor for Data and AI (2022).

THE ROLE

As a Backend Engineer at MindsDB, you’ll ensure the stability, performance, and security of MindsDB Core. You will maintain scalable and efficient backend systems, using your expertise in Python, Flask, and related technologies to lead development, testing, and deployment.

Your role involves improving existing components, adding new functionality, and collaborating with product managers to design solutions that enhance the user experience. You'll drive innovation and best practices to support MindsDB’s mission of delivering secure, high-quality solutions for customers and the open-source community.

This is a hybrid role (2-3 days in office/week) and we are looking for a candidate based in the Bay Area.

WHAT YOU’LL BE WORKING ON

• Develop and optimize LLM-powered enterprise applications, including Text-to-SQL and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) systems for structured and unstructured data.
• Implement advanced chunking and retrieval techniques, applying methods like semantic retrieval, query expansion, and bi-encoders to enhance data interaction.
• Fine-tune and deploy transformer models (e.g., Llama, OpenAI) into production, building agentic systems to extend LLM capabilities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on research, system design, code reviews, and best engineering practices.
• Write clean, maintainable code while contributing to the technical architecture and ensuring robust system performance.

REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS

You will have:

• 5+ years Backend Engineering experience
• 3-5 years of Python experience
• 2-3 years of SQL experience
• 1-2 years of AWS experience
• 1-2 years of REST and Docker experience
• 1-2 years of GitHub experience
• Fast, high quality development
• Strong communication skills
• Experience working in a fast moving, growing startup environment

Nice to have:

• Experience with microservices architecture
• Experience with Kubernetes
• Experience with Machine Learning
• Experience working in a fast-moving, growing startup environment.

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Flexible Working Hours
• Competitive Compensation
• Competitive Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance
• 401k with up to 6% matching
• Unlimited PTO
• New Hire Remote Setup budget ($1500)
• Lunch Provided Mon-Fri
• Internet Budget ($25/month)
• Commuter Budget ($1200/year)
• Learning & Development budget
• Wellbeing Budget ($1200/year)
• Monthly (virtual) team events
• International in-person company retreats
• Wellbeing/Mental Health leave

DIVERSITY, EQUALITY & INCLUSION

MindsDB is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all of our employees. MindsDB will give all qualified applicants consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.​