Backend Platform Engineer - Hapiko

We are looking for an experienced Backend Platform Engineer to build, maintain, and scale the infrastructure powering an innovative AI-enabled product designed for children. In this role, you will take end-to-end ownership of the backend ecosystem, including APIs, real-time connectivity, job processing pipelines, and cloud infrastructure. You will ensure that connected devices operate reliably while maintaining high performance, security, and cost efficiency as the product scales globally. Working within a small, experienced engineering team, you will strengthen existing systems, improve deployment processes, and establish technical standards for future growth. You will also collaborate with machine learning, firmware, and Trust & Safety specialists to deliver a seamless and secure user experience. This is an opportunity to make significant architectural decisions and shape the foundations of a growing technology platform.

Accountabilities:

• Own the development, maintenance, and optimization of backend APIs and job queues responsible for processing customer requests and powering the product experience.
• Maintain and improve the real-time communication infrastructure that connects devices to backend services, ensuring reliability and performance in collaboration with firmware engineering.
• Design, implement, and optimize autoscaling capabilities to support increasing traffic, seasonal demand, and the expansion of the connected device fleet.
• Collaborate with Machine Learning Serving Engineers to coordinate infrastructure scaling and optimize GPU-based inference workloads.
• Strengthen observability across the platform by developing and maintaining metrics, logging, distributed tracing, and alerting systems that enable early detection and resolution of technical issues.
• Build cost-monitoring and instrumentation capabilities to track infrastructure expenses at the request, model, and service levels.
• Take ownership of release engineering for backend services, including deployment strategies, database migrations, production releases, and reliable rollback procedures.
• Improve system architecture, infrastructure resilience, and operational standards to ensure the platform remains scalable, maintainable, and cost-efficient.
• Partner with Trust & Safety engineering to implement effective abuse prevention mechanisms, device security measures, and privacy safeguards appropriate for a children's product.
• Participate in the shared on-call rotation, responding to production incidents and continuously improving systems to reduce operational disruptions and recurring alerts.
• Identify infrastructure bottlenecks, technical risks, and opportunities for optimization, taking proactive steps to improve system performance and reliability.
• Establish engineering best practices and technical foundations that support the platform's long-term growth as the engineering team expands.

Requirements:

• Strong professional experience developing backend applications and services using Python.
• Solid expertise in PostgreSQL, including database design, query optimization, and production database management.
• Experience with Elixir or a genuine interest and willingness to learn and work with the language.
• Demonstrated experience owning production infrastructure end to end, including architecture, deployment, monitoring, maintenance, and operational reliability.
• Proven ability to design, operate, and scale queue-driven or real-time systems through significant increases in traffic and workload.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, asynchronous processing, API architecture, and real-time communication technologies.
• Experience building and maintaining reliable cloud infrastructure, including autoscaling strategies and systems designed to handle fluctuating demand.
• Familiarity with observability practices and tools, including metrics, centralized logging, distributed tracing, alerting, and incident monitoring.
• Understanding of release engineering and deployment practices, including safe production releases, database migrations, and rollback strategies.
• Ability to monitor and optimize infrastructure costs while balancing performance, reliability, and scalability.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional engineering teams, particularly in environments involving firmware, machine learning infrastructure, and security.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with the ability to investigate production incidents and implement sustainable solutions.
• Comfort taking responsibility for production systems and participating in on-call rotations, with a proactive approach to reducing incidents and improving operational efficiency.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, combined with the ability to work independently and take ownership of complex technical projects.
• A resourceful and hands-on mindset, with the ability to thrive in a small, fast-paced engineering team where autonomy and technical decision-making are essential.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation: Annual salary ranging from CA$136,700 to CA$182,300 for Ontario-based candidates, depending on experience, qualifications, and relevant expertise.
• Remote working opportunities: Remote-first arrangements, with the advertised opportunity available in Toronto.
• Flexible working hours: Flexibility to organize your schedule and support a healthy work-life balance.
• Comprehensive benefits: Access to a broad employee benefits package.
• Career development: Opportunities for professional growth, career advancement, and internal mobility.
• Innovation-driven environment: Work on a first-of-its-kind technology product combining connected devices, backend infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.
• Technical ownership: Significant autonomy and the opportunity to influence architecture, infrastructure decisions, and engineering standards.
• Collaborative culture: Work alongside experienced engineers across backend, firmware, machine learning, and Trust & Safety disciplines.
• Meaningful impact: Help build reliable, secure, and scalable technology supporting innovative digital experiences for children.
• Inclusive workplace: Join an organization committed to accessibility, diversity, and equal employment opportunities.
• Dynamic work environment: Be part of a hands-on, fast-paced team that values creativity, collaboration, innovation, and fun.