Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
What Artisan Is
We're building AI employees. Not chatbots. Not copilots. Autonomous digital workers that do real jobs.
Our first, Ava, is an AI BDR used by hundreds of companies. She researches leads, writes and sends emails in a customer's voice, runs multi-step outbound sequences, manages her own deliverability infrastructure, self-optimizes over time, and handles objections and meeting booking. She's not a tool someone uses. She's a teammate.
We're a YC W24 company, have raised $35M+ from investors including Y Combinator, and are at $8M+ ARR. Right now we're building Ava 2.0, a step change in what an AI employee can do. The engineering problems are hard and the surface area is enormous.
The Role
You’ll build the backend that makes AI employees possible. This is a foundational engineering role.
We process millions of signals — lead data, email engagement, deliverability metrics, behavioral patterns — to make autonomous decisions. The backend is core to everything we do: it powers the AI, runs the platform, and determines how well Ava performs for every customer. You’ll own major parts of it.
What that looks like concretely:
High-throughput AI orchestration.
Design and build the services and pipelines that allow Ava to process massive volumes of signals and make fast, reliable decisions.
Platform infrastructure.
Artisan replaces an entire sales stack: email infrastructure, CRM, lead database, campaign engine, inbox management, and AI coordination — all in one product. You’ll own real pieces of this platform.
High ownership, end to end.
Design it, build it, deploy it, monitor it. We don’t separate architecture from implementation. You own outcomes, not tickets.
Moving and iterating very fast.
You’ll ship constantly. We run a flat engineering org with minimal process and no red tape.
Our stack: TypeScript/Node, PostgreSQL, Redis, Kubernetes, Mastra, Temporal, Langfuse, ECS, EC2, deployed on AWS. We release continuously.
Who You Are
6+ years of backend experience, ideally at a high-growth startup where you owned systems end to end
A 5x engineer who knows how to leverage Claude Code effectively
Strong experience building and operating data-intensive services at scale
Deep understanding of distributed systems, database performance, and API design
Comfortable with cloud-native infrastructure: containers, orchestration, CI/CD, and monitoring
Strong opinions on reliability, observability, and testing — with good judgment on when to move fast
Clear communicator who can explain systems to engineers and product leaders alike
TypeScript/Node preferred; Python, Go, or similar is fine if fundamentals are strong
Why This Role
The problem is genuinely interesting. Autonomous AI agents interacting with real people, managing real infrastructure, and making real decisions creates backend complexity that is non-trivial and growing fast.
You’ll have real ownership. Small team, large scope. The systems you build directly power what customers use — no layers between you and impact.
The pace is high and the bar is higher. We ship weekly, iterate constantly, and expect engineers to drive outcomes.
Competitive salary and meaningful equity in a company with real revenue, real traction, and a clear path to a major outcome.
Details
Location: San Francisco, New York, or Remote (US)
Team: Engineering
Reports to: Sam Stallings, CPTO
Interview Process
Introductory chat with our recruiter
60-minute technical interview with an engineer
Second 60-minute technical interview with an engineer
30-minute interview with Sam, our CPTO
30-minute culture and values interview with Jaspar, our CEO
Our Culture and Values
Founder mindset. Everyone acts like an owner: take initiative, think big, challenge ideas, and push for 10× outcomes.
Obsessed with impact. We apply the 80/20 rule, kill sunk costs quickly, and focus on what actually moves the needle.
Customer-first, always. Every decision starts with the customer experience.
High standards, every detail. Quality matters in everything we ship, from product and code to copy and design.
Clear, direct communication. We value candor, fast responses, and real feedback.
Winning team energy. Positive vibes, low ego, zero drama. We genuinely enjoy building together.