Senior Backend Engineer

The role

You build the systems that let any app or AI agent ask ZeroDrift, in milliseconds, whether a message is allowed. You own how agents and developers connect to us, and the backend that keeps every rule current. This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role with real say over the architecture. You will be one of our first engineers, shaping the architecture of a new category, with the ownership and equity upside to match.

What you will own

• Build the layer that connects AI agents and developer frameworks to ZeroDrift: proxies, SDKs, and agent tooling
• Own the policy backend: the connectors, the ingest of rule sources and restricted lists, and the engine that tracks when rules change
• Build the controls that decide what each agent is allowed to do
• Hit low latency and high reliability under enterprise load, since we sit in the path of every message
• Hold a high bar for security and data protection on sensitive content

What you bring

• 5+ years building and running production backends at scale
• Strong in a modern backend language (for example Go, Python, Java, or Node) * Solid with APIs, distributed systems, databases, queues, and caching * You care about latency, reliability, and clean code in equal measure
• Comfortable with cloud, containers, and CI/CD

Bonus points

• Low-latency or real-time systems
• Built SDKs, proxies, or developer-facing infrastructure
• Worked with sensitive or regulated data

How we work

We are hyper-focused on speed of execution and on owning our work end to end. This is a full-time hybrid role: three days a week in our office at 4 World Trade Center in New York City, and the rest remote.

Compensation and benefits

• Base salary $200,000 - $250,000.
• Meaningful early-stage equity.
• Top-tier medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus a 401(k).