Backend Engineer - Infrastructure

EngineeringSan Francisco, CAFull-time
$200K - $2M+ total comp
$100K - $250K base0.10% - 2.00% equity
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About the role

We need a Backend Engineer to build infrastructure for cutting-edge multimodal AI systems at massive scale. You'll be responsible for the distributed systems that power millions of AI voice conversations daily, operating at the intersection of LLMs, voice AI, and real-time infrastructure. This role requires deep expertise in ML systems design and distributed architectures. You'll implement robust safety and alignment frameworks for AI systems, build scalable monitoring to detect unexpected model behaviors, and ensure our AI infrastructure complies with financial regulations. You'll balance rapid AI feature deployment with architectural scalability while handling the unique challenges of real-time voice AI at scale. The ideal candidate has experience with LLM infrastructure, voice AI technologies (ASR, TTS), and a track record of building production AI systems at scale. You'll thrive in our high-intensity environment where we're pushing the boundaries of conversational AI infrastructure.

What you'll do

  • Build scalable infrastructure for multimodal AI systems handling millions of voice calls
  • Implement robust safety and alignment frameworks for LLM-customer interactions
  • Design monitoring systems to detect and escalate unexpected AI model behaviors
  • Optimize LLM serving infrastructure for sub-200ms voice response times
  • Build distributed systems for RAG, vector databases, and prompt management
  • Implement AI model versioning, A/B testing, and gradual rollout systems
  • Ensure AI systems comply with financial regulations and safety requirements
  • Design fault-tolerant architectures for voice AI with automatic failover
  • Own customer relationships and understand their AI infrastructure needs

What we're looking for

  • Deep expertise in LLM serving (vLLM, TensorRT-LLM, or similar)
  • Experience with voice AI technologies (ASR, TTS, WebRTC)
  • Strong background in ML systems design and engineering best practices
  • Experience implementing AI safety and monitoring frameworks
  • Track record of building production AI systems at massive scale
  • Expertise in distributed systems, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms
  • Experience with vector databases and RAG infrastructure
  • Ability to work 5+ days per week from our San Francisco office

Nice to have

  • 5+ years backend engineering experience
  • 3+ years in AI/ML infrastructure
  • Experience with telephony systems (Twilio, Vonage, or similar)
  • Background in audio/video streaming infrastructure
  • Experience with ML model serving infrastructure
  • Knowledge of sales or CRM platforms
  • Experience with multi-region deployments and edge computing
  • Contributions to open-source infrastructure projects
  • Experience with high-frequency trading or other low-latency systems

Work Environment

As an early-stage company building at the frontier of AI, we work with high intensity and commitment. While schedules can vary by role and team, many weeks will demand extra focus, flexibility, and time—particularly during major launches and high-impact sprints. We're seeking those who are aligned to and able to commit to that expectation, which includes 5 days per week in our San Francisco office.

This isn't for everyone, and that's okay. We're looking for people who thrive in high-stakes environments, who find energy in solving hard problems alongside exceptional teammates, and who want their work to have immediate, measurable impact.

Own real customer relationships + meaningful equity

At Takeoff, every engineer owns relationships directly with customers. You won't be hidden away coding in isolation. You'll join customer calls, understand their challenges firsthand, and see the immediate impact of your work. Each engineer is responsible for customers generating millions in revenue. When you ship a feature, you'll hear directly from the sales teams whose lives you've transformed.

You'll also own a meaningful piece of the company. With 0.10% to 2.00% equity grants per teammate, early employees will see a substantial share of the returns as we scale. We believe in real ownership that reflects your impact on our growth.

Why join Takeoff?

  • Direct revenue impact: Own customer accounts worth millions in ARR
  • Customer exposure: Join calls, understand problems, ship solutions that matter
  • Cutting-edge tech: Work with the latest in AI, voice synthesis, and real-time systems
  • Growth: Join early and grow with us as we scale from thousands to millions of calls
  • Team: Work with ex-FAANG engineers who've built systems at scale

Ready to build the future of sales?

We'd love to hear from you. Send us your resume and a note about why you're excited about Takeoff.

Apply for this role