Senior Software Engineer, Backend

About Our Team

Chef Robotics is on a mission to accelerate the advent of intelligent machines in the physical world. As the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT has shown, AI has the potential to drive immense change. However, we believe AI’s biggest impact will be in the physical world, given industries like manufacturing, food, and transportation represent 90% of global GDP. We're starting with food, with a goal to put an intelligent robot in every commercial kitchen in the world. We have signed multiple multi-year contracts with various large food companies and we are growing fast. We're backed by investors like Kleiner Perkins, Construct, Bloomberg BETA and Promus Ventures. We have a great team, where you will be surrounded by talented engineers and tech leaders from companies like Cruise, Zoox, Google, Verb Surgical, Tesla, Nuro, Vicarious, Amazon Robotics, Strateos, Built Robotics, Facebook, Plenty, Yelp, and Microsoft.

About the Role

As a Senior Software Engineer, Backend specializing in database architecture and AI systems, you'll lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of the robust backend services that power our robotics platform. You'll work at the intersection of data management, API development, and AI integration to build scalable solutions that support our robotics systems across customer deployments. This role requires expertise in database optimization, API framework implementation, and a deep understanding of how to architect systems that enable real-time robotics operations. As a senior engineer, you'll mentor team members and drive technical decision-making for backend infrastructure.

Database Architecture & Management

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of database schemas to support robot operations, telemetry, recipe management, and system analytics
• Develop robust data migration strategies and version control for database schema evolution
• Implement efficient query optimization and indexing strategies to support high-throughput robot operations
• Establish data integrity protocols and backup systems to ensure operational continuity across customer deployments
• Create scalable data access layers that balance security, performance, and maintainability
• Mentor team members on database design patterns and optimization techniques

API Development & System Integration

• Lead the development and maintenance of scalable APIs to serve robot control systems, dashboards, and monitoring tools
• Design and implement secure authentication and authorization mechanisms across backend services
• Develop robust middleware for processing and validating data between robotics subsystems
• Create service interfaces that enable efficient communication between robotics components and cloud services
• Collaborate with frontend and robotics engineers to ensure cohesive integration of backend services
• Establish API design standards and best practices for the engineering team

AI & Machine Learning Integration

• Lead implementation of backend services that support machine learning pipelines for robot vision and motion planning
• Develop sophisticated APIs for model deployment, monitoring, and version management across robotics fleets
• Create efficient data storage and retrieval systems for training datasets and inference results
• Design and implement systems to collect and process performance metrics from AI components
• Collaborate with ML engineers to optimize data flow for training and inference processes
• Drive architecture decisions for AI/ML infrastructure and scalability

System Reliability & Performance Leadership

• Lead implementation of comprehensive logging, monitoring, and alerting for backend systems
• Develop diagnostic tools and dashboards for operational visibility across distributed robotics deployments
• Establish performance benchmarks and optimize systems to meet latency requirements for real-time operations
• Implement fault-tolerant design patterns to ensure reliability in production environments
• Create and maintain technical documentation for backend systems and mentor team on best practices
• Drive technical initiatives for system scalability and performance optimization

Required Qualifications - Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• 7+ years of professional experience in backend development roles with demonstrated leadership experience
• Expert knowledge of relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL) including schema design, optimization, and administration
• Strong proficiency with Python and JavaScript/TypeScript with advanced software engineering skills
• Extensive experience leading projects with at least two web frameworks: Flask, FastAPI, Django, Node.js , or Next.js
• Proven experience designing and implementing RESTful and GraphQL APIs at scale
• Advanced understanding of containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes) technologies
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and deployment (AWS, GCP, or Azure) in production environments

Leadership & Domain Knowledge

• Proven experience leading complex backend projects and mentoring junior engineers
• Understanding of data requirements for robotics or automation systems
• Experience with real-time or near-real-time systems and high-performance backend architecture
• Background in developing secure, reliable systems with high availability requirements
• Knowledge of CI/CD practices and infrastructure-as-code principles
• Familiarity with AI/ML deployment workflows and requirements

Personal Attributes

• Strong leadership and mentoring skills with ability to drive technical initiatives
• Excellence in technical communication with ability to explain complex systems to diverse audiences
• Proactive mindset in identifying potential issues and implementing scalable solutions
• Comfort with working in a fast-paced startup environment with startup-oriented hours
• Commitment to working onsite five days a week to contribute to positive in-office culture
• Passion for robotics and automation technology
• Collaborative approach to cross-functional engineering teams

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with time-series databases (InfluxDB, TimescaleDB) for telemetry data
• Knowledge of message queue systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ) for distributed systems
• Familiarity with WebSockets for real-time communication
• Experience with Redis for caching and pub/sub patterns
• Background in manufacturing, food production, or industrial automation
• Experience developing systems that interface with robotics hardware
• Knowledge of ROS (Robot Operating System) or similar frameworks
• Startup experience with track record of shipping working products under tight deadlines
• Experience with microservices architecture and distributed systems design

Key Projects You'll Lead

• Designing and implementing scalable database architecture for multi-site robotics deployments
• Leading development of real-time APIs for robotics control and monitoring systems
• Architecting AI/ML infrastructure for model deployment and performance monitoring
• Establishing backend system reliability and performance monitoring frameworks
• Mentoring engineering team on backend best practices and system design principles

$150,000 - $240,000 a year

Chef is an early-stage startup where equity is a major part of the compensation package. As the company secures more capital, we will gradually increase salary and cash compensation. The starting salary will depend on seniority.

In addition to salary and early-stage equity, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, commuter benefits, flexible paid time off (PTO), catered lunch, and 401(k) matching.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizen status, uniform service member and veteran status, marital status, age, pregnancy status, protected medical condition, genetic information, disability, or any other protected status.

Multiple studies have found that a higher percentage of women and BIPOC candidates won't apply if they don't meet every listed qualification. Chef values candidates of all backgrounds. If you find yourself excited by our mission but you don't check every box in the description, we encourage you to apply anyway!