Founding Backend Engineer- Generative AI Media - SF onsite

Job Description

Job Description

Founding Backend Engineer- Generative AI Media

San Francisco (Onsite, 5 days / week)

Salary + Generous Equity

US Citizens / Permanent Residents only (No visa sponsorship)

The Opportunity

Were partnering with a stealth AI video startup in San Francisco thats reimagining the future of media. Backed by top-tier VCs and led by a founder who built Instagram Stories , launched the Videos team at Facebook , and worked at NVIDIA , this company is pioneering Generative Television (GTV) a product that learns what people love to watch and automatically creates new, personalized content for them.

This is a rare chance to join a small founding team (currently

What Youll Do

As a Backend Engineer , youll be at the core of building the technical foundation of GTV :

Architect and scale backend systems powering generative video workflows.

Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and designers to bring new features and APIs to life.

Build core infrastructure for custom models, agentic workflows, and reinforcement learning loops .

Drive reliability and efficiency of distributed systems with automated testing, benchmarking, and observability .

Help shape technical strategy in a fast-moving, founder-led startup.

Tech Stack

Python, TypeScript, FastAPI, AWS, Cloudflare, PostgreSQL, Redis, Docker

Ideal Background

Were looking for builders with 35+ years of backend engineering experience and at least one marker of excellence (e.g., notable company, successful exit, or startup with real traction).

Must-haves :

Proven experience building scalable backend systems.

Strong proficiency in Python .

Hands-on with AWS (S3, Lambda, RDS, SQS, ECS) , FastAPI, Docker, and CI / CD pipelines.

Experience working in a fast-paced startup environment .

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Comfortable being onsite in SoMa, San Francisco .

Nice-to-haves :

Experience with video technologies (generation, encoding, playback, distribution).

Familiarity with generative AI and consumer-facing products.

Strong internships or degree from top CS programs (e.g., Waterloo, Stanford, MIT).

Traits that fit well :

Hungry, ambitious, ready to grind in a startup.

Thrives in small, high-intensity teams.

Comfortable with rapid iteration and shipping.

Traits to avoid :

Candidates solely from Big Tech who want management roles.

New grads or candidates prioritizing work-life balance over impact.

Why Join

Massive impact : Build the future of generative media from the ground up.

Compensation upside : Generous Salary + equity .

Visionary leadership : Work with a founder who has already reshaped how billions consume video.

Top-tier backing : $8M raised from Khosla Ventures, Air Street Capital, and leading AI angels (DeepMind, etc.).

In-person culture : Join a small, close-knit team in a high-energy office environment (dog-friendly ).

This role is ideal for ambitious engineers who want to go all-in on a startup building the next wave of consumer media. APPLY NOW!!

or DM to find out more https : / / www.linkedin.com / in / perrybarrow /