Software Engineer, Backend

10a Labs is the safety and threat-intelligence layer trusted by frontier AI labs and Fortune 10 companies. The role involves designing and implementing secure backend services and collaborating with teams to integrate AI-driven features into production.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement highly reliable, distributed, backend services and APIs that are secure, scalable, and maintainable, primarily using Python and Kotlin
• Work closely with researchers, security engineers, and product teammates to bring AI-driven features from concept to production
• Apply best practices for authentication, authorization, encryption, and data protection throughout the stack
• Integrate and optimize advanced AI/ML models within backend architectures
• Monitor and improve performance, reliability, and resource efficiency to support growth
• Deploy and manage services on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) such as Cloud Run, Vertex AI, and API Gateway with an emphasis on ensuring scalability, reliability, and efficient resource utilization
• Participate in code reviews, testing, and deployment processes to maintain high standards of quality and security
• Drive other critical initiatives

Requirements:

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field — or equivalent professional experience
• 3+ years of hands-on backend development in production environments
• Proficiency in backend programming languages such as Python, Java, Kotlin, Node.js, or Go and experience building secure systems, APIs, and microservices
• Strong understanding of security best practices, including authentication methods (OAuth, JWT), encryption, and secure API development; knowledge of common attack vectors (SQL injection, privilege escalation, DDoS) and effective mitigation strategies
• Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP) and secure deployment practices, including containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Experience effectively communicating complex engineering topics to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Familiarity with modern DevOps practices, including test automation, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code practices
• Experience designing and building end-to-end backend systems, from architecture and data modeling to deployment, scaling, and monitoring
• Experience integrating and optimizing AI models (e.g., NLP, vision, multimodal systems) within backend services
• Familiarity with SQL and NoSQL databases; experience with secure data management