Lead Backend Engineer

London (4-5 Days Onsite per week)

Up to £120,000 + Equity

AI Startup

An early-stage AI startup is hiring a Lead Backend Engineer to help build the technical backbone of a platform focused on automating complex operational workflows in a large, traditional industry undergoing significant digital transformation.

The employer is building agentic AI systems that automate communications, scheduling, compliance, and operational coordination - moving beyond chat-based AI into systems that take action and execute workflows in real-world environments.

The product is already live with early customers and scaling rapidly.

This is a hands-on Lead Backend Engineer position with significant technical ownership.

You will:

• Architect and build scalable Back End systems using Node.js and TypeScript
• Design APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures
• Build Back End workflows and integrations powering AI-driven automation
• Collaborate closely with AI, Product, and Data teams
• Mentor engineers and help define engineering standards
• Contribute to system design and long-term technical strategy

• Excellent software engineering experience
• Strong Node.js and TypeScript expertise
• Experience building scalable Back End systems and APIs
• Strong system design and architecture capability
• Startup or scale-up experience (essential)
• Degree educated (STEM preferred)
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL and modern Back End practices

Nice to have: AI/LLM integration experience, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP), event-driven systems, Kafka, Kubernetes

? Build production-grade agentic AI systems with real-world impact
? High ownership in a fast-moving startup environment
? Direct collaboration with founders and senior leadership
? Equity participation with meaningful upside
? Opportunity to shape engineering culture, architecture, and tooling from an early stage

RSG Plc is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.