Software Engineer, Backend

Experience: 5+ years of backend software engineering experience, with at least 2+ years in senior backend roles delivering scalable APIs and infrastructure at scale.

Technical Mastery: Deep expertise in building distributed systems, RESTful and real-time APIs, and cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, etc.).

System Design: Demonstrated strength in designing and implementing reliable, scalable backend services for high-traffic applications.

Product Focus: Track record of launching impactful backend features that balance technical quality with business needs.

Ownership & Initiative: Proven ability to independently lead complex projects, troubleshoot problems, and deliver impactful solutions.

Collaboration & Communication: Strong written and verbal skills—thrive in cross-functional environments with product, design, and engineering peers.

Experience with real-time collaboration platforms, creative tools, or media-rich applications.

Familiarity with integrating generative AI or agent-based systems.

Previous experience at high-growth startups or in fast-paced, evolving settings.

Competitive coding, hackathon, or open-source contributions.

At Pika, our mission is to make video creation seamless, intuitive, and accessible to everyone through the latest advances in AI. We believe everyone should be empowered to express creativity, and we foster a culture of product thinking, technical rigor, and collective impact. We're based in Palo Alto, CA, working in-office 3–5 days a week.