Senior/Staff Software Engineer - Multimodal Backend

About us
Character's mission is to empower everyone with AGI. Our vision is to enable people with our technology so that they can use Character.AI any moment of any day.
Character.AI is one of the world's leading personal AI platforms. Founded in 2021 by AI pioneers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI is a full-stack AI company with a globally scaled direct-to-consumer platform. As of 2023 that platform was #2 in the space in user engagement. Character.AI is uniquely centered around people, letting users personalize their experience by interacting with AI "Characters." The company achieved unicorn status in 2023 and was named Google Play's AI App of the Year.
Noam co-invented the key tech powering LLMs and was recently named to TIME100's Most Influential People in AI list. TIME called him "one of the most important and impactful people of the space's past, present, and future." Daniel created and led LaMDA, the breakthrough conversational tech project currently powering Bard.
To learn more, please visit beta.character.ai.
About the role
Responsibilities:
We are looking for a Senior or Staff level Backend Engineer who will focus on building systems and infrastructure in support of cutting-edge multimodal interfaces for AI. This role is at the heart of revolutionizing how users will engage with AI on our platform, by allowing them to use speech, gestures, or other natural interactions. As part of our collaborative team of engineers, designers, and machine learning researchers, you will play a pivotal role in these efforts by conceptualizing, architecting, designing, and deploying the backend systems that support these experiences.
Here are some example projects you might take on:

• Build a low-latency audio streaming backend for real-time human-AI phone call experience.
• Build a large scale video ingestion and storage infrastructure to power the ability for Characters to see.
• Build a generative video live-streaming platform.
• Manage, scale, and automate large scale deployments of streaming infrastructure with high availability.

Who we're looking for
Required Experience:

• 2+ years of experience with audio and video streaming technologies (e.g, WebRTC, media servers, etc.).
• 5+ years experience building and scaling backend systems to support a fast growing consumer application.
• Experience writing highly performant services and strong knowledge of Golang and/or Python.
• Designing, implementing, and maintaining individual microservices that collectively form complex, scalable backend systems.
• An understanding of containerization technologies (like Docker) and orchestration tools (such as Kubernetes).
• Extensive experience with various database technologies, both relational (like PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (such as MongoDB, Cassandra, or DynamoDB). Proficiency in database design, sharding, replication, and tuning for high-traffic environments is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with caching mechanisms (like Redis, Memcached) to enhance application performance and response times.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a knack for identifying and addressing bottlenecks, ensuring that backend systems perform optimally under varying loads.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with product managers, designers, and frontend engineers to conceive, design, and implement new features that enhance user experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• B.S. in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

Desired Qualities:

• You are proactive and have a "get things done" mindset
• You have a passion for staying updated with the latest industry trends and technologies, with a willingness to continuously learn and innovate, ensuring that our backend systems remain at the forefront of technological advancements
• You have a deep passion for creating innovative AI experiences, and you are product-focused. You are enthusiastic about building features and solutions that not only harness the power of AI but also resonate deeply with user needs, contributing to a transformative and engaging product.

You will be a good fit if you are proactive and have a "get things done" mindset. Given our current pace of growth and load on our systems, most people have had a significant impact during their first week at the company.
Character is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. We value diversity and encourage applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply.