Senior / Principal Backend Engineer (Graph and AI Systems)

Senior / Principal Backend Engineer (Graph and AI Systems)

Duration is 6-12 months, with extensions – candidate must be in PST or CST only

Summary

Seeking a hands-on backend engineer with production experience in graph databases and AI-integrated systems, ideally from large-scale SaaS or platform environments. This role focuses on building distributed systems, knowledge graph architectures, and LLM-enabled services.

Strong communication skills and professional presence are critical. Candidates must demonstrate clear, articulate communication with no reliance on filler language. This is a strict hire or no hire factor.

Must-Have Skills (Do Not Submit Without These)

10+ years backend development using Java and/or Node.js

Strong experience building distributed systems and microservices

Hands-on Neo4j or similar graph database experience in production

Strong graph data modeling and Cypher or equivalent query language experience

Experience with knowledge graphs and ontology-driven systems

Experience integrating LLMs or AI into backend systems in production

Strong experience with event-driven and real-time data pipelines

Experience with AWS or GCP and containerization

Strong REST API development and CI/CD using Git

Strong Preference

Experience within Salesforce ecosystem including APIs, Data Cloud, or platform integrations

Background in enterprise SaaS or multi-tenant platforms

Experience with graph and AI patterns such as GraphRAG or knowledge graph and LLM integration

Experience with vector databases or embeddings

Target Companies (Prioritize These)

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Apple

SaaS or platform companies

High-scale product engineering environments such as Silicon Valley or Seattle-based companies

Do Not Submit

Candidates from banking or financial services, insurance, healthcare, higher education, or traditional enterprise institutions.

Vendor Accountability

Repeated failure to follow submission rules, screening requirements and expectations will result in submissions being deprioritized or paused.

Screen Before Submitting (Required)

Neo4j or similar graph database used in production

Experience building distributed systems at scale

Hands-on LLM or AI integration in production

Background in a product-based technology company, not institution-heavy

LinkedIn profile is complete, includes a professional headshot, and matches the CV

Candidate demonstrates clear, professional communication with no reliance on filler language