Sr. Engineer, Backend (Canvas)

Overview

We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join the Canvas team. Canvas is Zapier’s platform for visually designing, building, and automating business workflows. Within Canvas, AI Assist is our cutting-edge initiative that leverages AI to recommend optimizations and help users build systems via APIs.

 

Zapier Canvas empowers users to visually design, build, and automate customer workflows. With intuitive diagramming tools and AI-assisted automation, users can transform ideas into powerful systems using Zapier’s extensive suite of products. Users can annotate, share, and collaborate on Canvas documents, providing a clear and visual way to explain and refine their automations.

 

If you’re excited about building scalable systems that enable AI-driven automation and love creating tools that help customers simplify complex workflows, this role is for you!

• Our Commitment to Applicants
• Culture and Values at Zapier
• Zapier Guide to Remote Work
• Zapier Code of Conduct
• Diversity and Inclusivity at Zapier

About You

Required Technical Skills/Experience:

• 6+ years of professional experience in software engineering, with a focus on backend systems, APIs, and scalable architectures.
• Proficiency in TypeScript (preferred), Python, or a similar language for high-performance backend development.
• Experience designing, building, and maintaining APIs for complex systems, including API versioning and lifecycle management.
• Strong understanding of graph-based and relational database design, with the ability to represent complex relationships and dependencies.
• Demonstrated ability to make architectural decisions for scalable and high-throughput systems.
• Proven experience integrating AI/ML systems into production workflows, including optimization for inference and monitoring.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams, including AI/ML specialists, product managers, and other engineers.
• Expertise in designing modular, reusable architectures for multi-team, multi-product ecosystems.
• Proficiency in optimizing backend performance, especially for latency-sensitive and high-throughput APIs.
• Experience with distributed ownership of data models and ensuring consistency across interconnected systems.

 

Nice-to-Have Technical Skills/Experience:

• Hands-on experience with LLMs or AI-powered recommendation engines in production systems.
• Hands-on experience with Fastify.
• You live by the “always ship new code” mantra. You take pleasure in releasing code frequently, knowing that every deployment brings with it enhancements that directly impact users. You believe in frequent, iterative improvement.
• You value collaboration. You understand that building software is a team sport, and you enjoy working as part of a tight-knit team. You’re happy to pitch in and help the team, whether by reviewing code, pairing on a tricky problem, or just thinking about how to solve the challenges we’re facing.
• You’re driven by results, not by process. In the ever-changing landscape of software development, you recognize that while processes are essential, they should never overshadow the end goal: delivering exceptional value.
• You care about the ‘why’ more than the ‘what’. If priorities seem nebulous or not optimized, you’re confident and proactive in seeking clarity, ensuring that the team’s efforts align with the broader vision. Misalignments don’t escape you, and you’re quick to flag them.
• You’re intentional and articulate. Every design choice you make stems from a place of intentionality. You’re not one to follow the herd blindly. Instead, you advocate robustly for your design choices and implementation strategies.
• You love teaching. You enjoy sharing knowledge with the rest of your team and building a culture of continuous growth. You have experience coaching engineers to help them level up.
• You’re an avid learner. The tech world’s constant evolution excites you. Always on the prowl for the next big thing, you’re quick to immerse yourself in the intricacies of its implementation.

 

Things You’ll Do

Zapier is a small, fast-growing, and remote-first company, so you’ll likely get experience on many different projects across the organization. That said, here are some things you’ll probably do:

• Enhance AI Assist Capabilities: Build and optimize backend systems that power AI-driven recommendations, ensuring seamless integration with Canvas workflows. Develop high-throughput systems to process and serve data efficiently for AI-powered features.
• Collaborate with Product and Design Teams: Partner with product managers, UX designers, and AI/ML specialists to deliver intuitive and impactful backend solutions that support our users’ automation needs.
• Deliver our API-First Vision: Architect and implement scalable, developer-friendly APIs that enable seamless communication between Canvas and other Zapier products. Ensure APIs are secure, reliable, and optimized for performance.
• Optimize System Performance: Monitor and improve the reliability, scalability, and efficiency of backend systems, addressing performance bottlenecks, error rates, and maintaining high availability.
• Design Scalable Data Models: Create graph-based and relational data models that represent complex relationships and dependencies, supporting interconnected products across the Zapier ecosystem.
• Resolve Bugs and Implement Feature Requests: Investigate and address backend issues, ensuring they are resolved promptly while continuously looking for ways to improve based on user feedback.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work with engineers, data specialists, and AI/ML teams across the organization to align on goals, share best practices, and drive innovation in backend system design.

You’ll also have the opportunity to specialize in various areas of the Zapier codebase. Specializing won’t limit your growth at Zapier—we believe that each engineer brings a unique perspective and can contribute across teams. Collaboration is key, and you’ll frequently work with other teams to assist with impactful projects.

How to Apply

At Zapier, we believe that diverse perspectives and experiences make us better, which is why we have a non-standard application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We’re looking for the best fit for each of our roles, regardless of the type of companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don’t exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few in-depth questions in our application that would typically be asked at the start of an interview process. This helps speed things up by letting us get to know you and your skillset a bit better right out of the gate. Please be sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.

Education is not a requirement for our roles; however, if you receive an offer, you will need to include your most recent educational experience as part of our background check process.

After you apply, you are going to hear back from us—even if we don’t see an immediate fit with our team. In fact, throughout the process, we strive to never go more than seven days without letting you know the status of your application. We know we’ll make mistakes from time to time, so if you ever have questions about where you stand or about the process, just ask your recruiter!

Zapier is an equal-opportunity employer and we’re excited to work with talented and empathetic people of all identities. Zapier does not discriminate based on someone’s identity in any aspect of hiring or employment as required by law and in line with our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Our code of conduct provides a beacon for the kind of company we strive to be, and we celebrate our differences because those differences are what allow us to make a product that serves a global user base. Zapier will consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

Zapier is committed to inclusion. As part of this commitment, Zapier welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities and will work to provide reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodations are needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact jobs@zapier.com.

 

Application Deadline:

The anticipated application window is 30 days from the date job is posted, unless the number of applicants requires it to close sooner or later, or if the position is filled.

Even though we’re an all-remote company, we still need to be thoughtful about where we have Zapiens working. Check out this resource for a list of countries where we currently cannot have Zapiens permanently working.