Senior Backend Software Engineer at Optimyze1 in Toronto, Ontario, CA

Company Description

A fast-growing, AI start-up is seeking a Senior Backend Software Engineer to join its highly collaborative, cross-functional team. This is a unique opportunity to build impactful systems from the ground up in an engineering-first environment where technology drives every decision. You’ll play a key role in shaping scalable infrastructure and delivering best-in-class experiences for end users.

This role is perfect for someone who enjoys autonomy, thrives on solving complex technical challenges, and wants to see their work make a real difference — quickly.

*******Please note that Sponsorship is not possible for this opportunity, you must have a valid work permit/residence permit to work in Canada*******

Job Description

What You’ll Be Doing

• Architect, develop, and maintain scalable services, data models, and APIs that power core platform functionality
• Take full ownership of feature lifecycles — from technical design to deployment and ongoing maintenance
• Work closely with product, data, and design teams to deliver seamless, user-friendly experiences
• Build internal tools and infrastructure that improve team productivity and platform reliability
• Promote and implement engineering best practices, focusing on scalability, performance, and maintainability
• Contribute to the long-term technical roadmap and system architecture decisions

Qualifications

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Backend Software Engineer to join a fast-paced AI start-up with an excellent team. In this role, you will design, build, and maintain the server-side systems and APIs that power our applications. You will work closely with product managers, frontend engineers, and DevOps to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performance solutions for enterprise customers

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend services, APIs, and databases
• Write clean, efficient, and well-documented code
• Optimize application performance, scalability, and reliability
• Collaborate with frontend and product teams to integrate features and deliver end-to-end functionality
• Implement best practices in security, data privacy, and compliance
• Participate in code reviews, architecture discussions, and technical planning
• Monitor, debug, and troubleshoot production systems
• Contribute to continuous improvement of development processes and tools

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience as a Senior Backend Engineer or in a similar role
• Strong proficiency in at least one backend programming language (e.g., Java, Python, Go, Node.js, C#)
• Experience with frameworks such as Spring Boot, Express, Django, or FastAPI
• Solid understanding of RESTful APIs, GraphQL, or gRPC
• Hands-on experience with databases (SQL and NoSQL)
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Experience working with infrastructure
• Strong understanding of system design, distributed systems, and microservices architecture
• Experience working with infrastructure engineers
• Working knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, Git, and automated testing
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team

Additional Information

Nice to Have

• Experience with event-driven architectures (Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc.)
• Knowledge of DevOps practices and infrastructure as code (Terraform, Ansible, etc.)
• Familiarity with observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack)
• Prior experience in a fast-paced startup or agile environment

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits package
• Opportunity to work on impactful, large-scale projects with enterprise customers and on very tangible applications of AI
• Flexible working arrangements (remote/hybrid options). 1 day a week in the co-working space if you are within the Greater Toronto Area
• Professional growth and learning opportunities
• Inclusive and collaborative team culture