Senior Backend Python Engineer

About the Company

Shelf is building a unique operating system for an automated future. We provide a platform that models a company's policies, workflows, and operational logic into an AI Data Model, enabling AI Agents to reliably reason and deliver precise outcomes at scale for enterprise customers like Glovo, Nespresso, and HelloFresh.

Responsibilities

• Design and ship backend services, APIs, data flows, and background processing
• Turn vague requirements into concrete technical plans and execution
• Own services post-launch, including reliability, observability, and performance
• Make sound decisions regarding system boundaries, data models, and scaling paths
• Work closely with product, frontend, and platform engineers
• Improve engineering leverage using AI tooling and automation
• Raise the quality bar through code and design reviews

Requirements

• Senior-level backend engineering experience in production systems
• Strong Python skills and ability to design maintainable code
• Experience with distributed systems, concurrency, and failure handling
• Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Proficiency in database schema design and performance tuning
• Security-conscious approach to engineering and sensitive data
• AI-native working style using AI tools in daily workflows
• Clear written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building agentic systems (AI agents, tool-calling, orchestration, or LLM-backed infrastructure)
• Working knowledge of TypeScript
• Experience shaping technical direction for other engineers

Benefits

• B2B contract
• Company Stock Options
• MacBook Pro hardware
• GitHub Copilot subscription
• Modern technical stack and opportunity to develop open-source software