Founding Backend Software Engineer (Senior/Staff) - VC Backed Startups

Join SignalFire’s Talent Network for Founding Back-end Software Engineer Roles at VC-Backed Startups

This is not an application for a specific job. Instead, this is a way to get on the radar of VC-backed startups that are actively hiring Engineering talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to talentnetwork@signalfire.com.

At SignalFire, we partner with top early-stage startups that are shaping the future of technology. Our portfolio spans 200+ innovative companies across AI, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS.

We’re looking to connect with exceptional Founding Backend Engineers who are excited about building scalable, high-performance systems at early-stage startups. By joining SignalFire’s Talent Network, your profile will be shared with our portfolio companies, giving you visibility into exclusive early-stage opportunities that may not be publicly listed.

Who Should Join?

We’re looking for engineers who are:
✔ Passionate about backend architecture and scalable distributed systems
✔ Excited about joining early-stage startups and working directly with founders
✔ Interested in building APIs, microservices, and cloud infrastructure

Typical Roles & Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend systems with a focus on scalability and performance

• Develop high-performance APIs, microservices, and cloud-based architectures

• Optimize databases and data pipelines for reliability and efficiency

• Collaborate with founders to define technical strategy and align it with business goals

• Ensure backend infrastructure is secure, fault-tolerant, and cost-efficient

• Establish best practices for software development, DevOps, and infrastructure management

Common Qualifications

While each startup has its own hiring criteria, many founding backend engineering roles in our network look for:

• 3+ years of experience as a backend engineer, with a proven track record of shipping production systems

• Expertise in backend frameworks (Node.js, Django, Flask, Ruby on Rails, FastAPI, Spring Boot)

• Strong understanding of databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis) and data modeling

• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Proficiency in backend programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, Node.js, or Ruby

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code tools

• Experience in early-stage startups or lean teams is a plus

Technologies You Might Work With:

• Languages & Frameworks: Python, Golang, Java, JavaScript (Node.js), Ruby, Django, Flask, FastAPI, Ruby on Rails, Spring Boot

• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis

• Cloud & DevOps: AWS (Lambda, EC2, S3, RDS), GCP (Cloud Run, Firestore), Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub Actions

• Other Tools: REST APIs, GraphQL, WebSockets, Kafka, RabbitMQ, Elasticsearch

What Happens Next?

1. Submit your application to join SignalFire’s Talent Ecosystem.

2. We review applications on an ongoing basis to identify strong candidates.

3. If there’s a match, a SignalFire talent partner or a leader from one of our startups may reach out directly.

4. No match yet? We’ll keep your profile on file for future backend engineering roles in our portfolio.