Principal Backend Engineer

As a Principal Engineer at Netrin, you will play a crucial role in architecting and building the Python backend, owning the AWS infrastructure and DevOps, and setting the engineering standards for the company as it transitions from a stealth founding team. Your responsibilities will include: - Making and documenting key technical decisions, and setting conventions for the team to build on - Designing, building, and maintaining backend APIs and services in Python (FastAPI) on AWS-based, containerized infrastructure - Owning small-scale DevOps and cloud infrastructure, including provisioning and maintaining compute, storage, databases, networking, and observability as code (Terraform) - Building and operating asynchronous data processing pipelines and LLM service APIs as backend dependencies - Designing and optimizing vector data storage, PostgreSQL schemas for structured and semi-structured data - Implementing and owning CI/CD pipelines for reliable, repeatable, least-privilege deployments - Driving security and data-protection best practices, integrating authentication and authorization with strong RBAC integration - Establishing testing, observability, and operational standards In order to be successful in this role, you must meet the following requirements: - 68 years of professional backend engineering experience with Python, demonstrating a track record of owning systems end-to-end - Deep, hands-on production experience with AWS services such as ECS Fargate, S3, RDS, SQS, IAM, KMS, and VPC networking - Hands-on experience with Infrastructure-as-Code using Terraform, including module design, state management, and multi-environment setups - Strong PostgreSQL skills, including schema design, query optimization, and operational experience - Proven experience designing and operating scalable, fault-tolerant, asynchronous/event-driven systems - Experience with building and maintaining REST APIs, ownership of CI/CD pipelines, production monitoring, observability, authentication, and authorization - Strong grasp of security fundamentals, problem-solving ability, technical judgement, and clear communication skills - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrable experience Additionally, the following are considered good-to-have requirements for the role: - Experience integrating LLM APIs into production systems - Familiarity with vector databases, embedding models, and PostGIS - Experience with compliance-sensitive systems and geospatial query workloads - Experience leading or mentoring engineers, and exposure to mobile-backed product surfaces Joining Netrin offers you the opportunity to be part of a new team shaping the future of health in stealth mode, with principal-level ownership and the chance to work with modern cloud-native infrastructure and AI-first tooling. You will be part of a small, highly efficient team with a strong culture of engineering rigor, and enjoy attractive compensation and flexible working conditions. Apply today and embark on this exciting journey with Netrin, an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply. As a Principal Engineer at Netrin, you will play a crucial role in architecting and building the Python backend, owning the AWS infrastructure and DevOps, and setting the engineering standards for the company as it transitions from a stealth founding team. Your responsibilities will include: - Making and documenting key technical decisions, and setting conventions for the team to build on - Designing, building, and maintaining backend APIs and services in Python (FastAPI) on AWS-based, containerized infrastructure - Owning small-scale DevOps and cloud infrastructure, including provisioning and maintaining compute, storage, databases, networking, and observability as code (Terraform) - Building and operating asynchronous data processing pipelines and LLM service APIs as backend dependencies - Designing and optimizing vector data storage, PostgreSQL schemas for structured and semi-structured data - Implementing and owning CI/CD pipelines for reliable, repeatable, least-privilege deployments - Driving security and data-protection best practices, integrating authentication and authorization with strong RBAC integration - Establishing testing, observability, and operational standards In order to be successful in this role, you must meet the following requirements: - 68 years of professional backend engineering experience with Python, demonstrating a track record of owning systems end-to-end - Deep, hands-on production experience with AWS services such as ECS Fargate, S3, RDS, SQS, IAM, KMS, and VPC networking - Hands-on experience with Infrastructure-as-Code using Terraform, including module design, state management, and multi-environment setups - Strong PostgreSQL skills, including schema design, query optimization, and operational experience - Proven expe