Staff Backend Engineer (AI & Knowledge Systems)

The Opportunity

Demand.io is a profitable, founder-led consumer AI commerce player driving $1B in annual GMV. We are the team behind SimplyCodes (the #1 AI-powered savings tool) and Product.ai (emerging deterministic AI shopping assistant).

We are seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to operate as a Technical Lead & Systems Architect. This is not a standard IC role; it is a high-leverage position for a builder who wants to own the technical roadmap for the "nervous system" of a next-generation intelligence company.

We are pivoting from "Search" (finding links) to "Adjudication" (verifying truth). This requires a fundamental re-architecture of how we ingest, process, and serve data. You will move beyond building features to architecting the neuro-symbolic intelligence engine that powers our entire ecosystem, setting the technical standards for the wider engineering team.

What You Will Build

You will not be writing tickets for minor features. You will be architecting the strategic engines of the company and defining the engineering culture.

• Massive-Scale Knowledge Infrastructure: Architect and build the intelligent, fault-tolerant backend for our Commerce Knowledge Graph. You will design distributed ingestion pipelines that process millions of data points, ensuring our AI agents have access to high-fidelity, verified structured data.
• AI-Native API Architecture: Design and implement high-performance, real-time APIs (gRPC, REST) optimized for Agent-to-Agent communication. You will build the interfaces that allow our Reasoning Engine to interact with our Transaction Layer with <100ms latency.
• Automated Verification Systems: Lead the technical design of event-driven systems that verify data truth at scale. You will replace manual heuristics with deterministic logic and LLM-driven workflows, creating a self-healing data ecosystem.
• Living System Documentation: Enact our mandate for Strategic Data Architecture. You will not just write code; you will create the Living Technical Blueprints and schematic designs that serve as the source of truth for both human engineers and AI collaborators.

Who You Are

We prioritize first-principles thinking over pedigree.

• You are a Staff-Level Architect. You have graduated from "how do I build this?" to "should we build this, and how will it scale in 3 years?" You proactively identify technical debt and architectural risks before they become blockers.
• You are a First-Principles Thinker. You reject "playbook" reasoning. You deconstruct problems to their fundamental technical constraints and build up from there, rather than relying on lazy analogies.
• You are Cloud-Native. You have deep, hands-on experience scaling applications on GCP using Kubernetes and serverless patterns. You understand the nuances of distributed systems.
• You possess Extreme Agency. You do not wait for permission. You feel a deep, personal responsibility for the quality and resilience of your systems. You are a self-starter who creates momentum.
• You are AI-Fluent. You see AI not just as a tool, but as a foundational layer of the stack. You understand how to architect systems that integrate with Large Language Models and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows.

Compensation & Ownership

We operate as a high-performance studio, not a typical corporation. Because we have no VC overlords, we share the surplus directly with the builders.

• Base Salary: $250,000 – $360,000. We target the 80th percentile to attract 1-of-1 talent. Your base covers your life; your equity builds your freedom.
• Profit Participation (PIUs): You aren't just an employee; you are a partner. We grant Profits Interest Units (PIUs), giving you true ownership and a share of the company's operating profit. You earn real cash flow distributions as we grow—not just at a theoretical exit—all within a structure designed for tax efficiency to maximize your take-home wealth.
• Benefits: 100% premium coverage for you and your family, daily catered lunches, and unlimited PTO that we actually expect you to use to recharge.

How to Apply

We don't use cover letters or ATS keyword bots. We measure logic, not keywords.

The Process

1. The Input: Instead of scheduling a 30-minute phone screen, you will answer 5 short questions via video (Async).
2. The Context: These are high-signal prompts designed to test how you prioritize and compress complexity. No rehearsal is required. We value clear thinking over production value.
3. The Trade: If your signal is clear, you skip the generic recruiter screen and move straight to a peer-level conversation with the team.