Lead Backend Engineer

Genies is an AI avatar and games technology company powering the next generation of digital experiences. Genies' technology stack is rooted in empowering user generated content through the company's two main mantras:

“Anyone can create anything” & “Everything works with everything”

By combining these two guiding principles, individuals can craft limitless experiences while IP owners can build dynamic social gaming ecosystems powered by user-generated content (UGC) and AI Avatars—what Genies calls "Parties."

Genies' technology stack features a comprehensive suite of UGC tools that enable anyone to create AI avatars, complete with customizable fashion, props, behaviors, and personalities, as well as immersive AI avatar experiences. At its core is the Genies Avatar Framework, which leverages machine learning and computer graphics to ensure seamless interoperability across all user-generated AI avatars and experiences—unlocking boundless creative potential.

Early adopters of Genies’ first gen avatars include icons like Justin Bieber, Rihanna, J Balvin, Migos, and thousands more. With offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Genies has raised $200M from notable investors including Silver Lake, BOND, NEA, and Bob Iger.

Genies is looking for a passionate and experienced Lead Backend Engineer to join our Avatar Technology Team and drive the development and growth of our backend services powering User-Generated Content (UGC) and avatar customization and behavior systems. This role focuses on building the critical backend infrastructure that powers dynamic 3D avatar experiences, asset interoperability, and scalable pipeline tools across internal and user-generated content. You’ll lead architecture and development efforts in close collaboration with engineers, pipeline specialists, AI researchers, and product leaders to advance our Avatar technology and empower real-time and asynchronous workflows at scale.

Seated in either our SF Bay Area office (San Mateo) or Los Angeles based HQ, and reporting to the Director of Avatar Technology, our ideal candidate has extensive experience with languages like Golang, Python, or C++. They have explored development in compute heavy areas such as AI and Graphics. They are great leaders with the ability to influence their peers and mentor other team members. At the same time they enjoy hands-on coding, designing and working with APIs for both internal and external consumption, and thrive in solving really fun and challenging technical problems.

Genies will deliver on creating an interoperable avatar network. Are you up for helping us make it happen? Join us in shaping the future of avatar technology!

What You'll Be Doing:

• Lead a multi-discipline team of Engineers to create best in class systems.
• Lead the overall planning, development, and execution of system architecture.
• Take new products and features from the design phase to production.
• Delve into code written by other engineers and take ownership of existing systems as needed.
• Design and develop scalable, high-performance backend services that power both mobile and web applications, ensuring reliability and scalability.
• Build with creativity and innovation while having opportunities to experiment with cutting-edge technologies and solutions applied everywhere from data storage to APIs to user facing experiences and games
• Build and operate a high quality infrastructure and service ecosystem, ensuring high availability, security, and performance
• Collaborate with the broader engineering team to help plan the company's long-term technology roadmap and define the future of our systems
• Support efforts to advance useful LLM and ML systems for end-users while gaining new knowledge from our researchers
• Lead efforts to scale our infrastructure horizontally and vertically to accommodate the growing demand for our avatar experiences, ensuring robustness and reliability even under increased load
• Demonstrate adaptability by taking on additional responsibilities as needed, contributing to the company's success and growth

What You Should Have:

• Bachelor degree in Computer Science or a related field
• 7+ years of professional experience
• Experience in NoSQL database design and development
• Experience with ML systems and heavy compute workloads
• Experience in developing, designing and working with APIs, distributed databases and caching systems
• Experience with Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform
• Proficiency in an object-oriented language such as Python, Golang, Java or C++  
• Robust exploratory/experimental skills
• Self-starter, analytical, creative, highly motivated with a visionary spirit
• Strong skills in terms of identifying and articulating goals and risks to management
• Team player with strong influencing skills

How Genies will support you

Genies is a well-funded, growing start-up that cares deeply about each of our employees' growth and success. Our roles and their responsibilities are created with a breadth of scope that introduces each employee to exciting new challenges and opportunities that a growing start-up encounters. The actual base pay is dependent upon a number of factors, including: professional background, training, transferable skills, work experience, education, location, business and product needs, and market demand. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. Full-time employees may also be eligible for equity compensation, in addition to a robust health, wellness, and benefits package. 

Starting Salary Range: $200,000.00 to $250,000 USD

Here's why you'll love working at Genies:

• You'll work with a team that you’ll be able to learn from and grow with, including support for your own professional development
• You'll be at the helm of your own career, shaping it with your own innovative contributions to a nascent team and product with flexible hours and a work from home policy
• You'll enjoy the culture and perks of a startup, with the stability of being well funded 
• Comprehensive health insurance for you and your family (Anthem + Kaiser Options Available), Dental and Vision Insurance
• Competitive salaries and 401K program for all full time employees 
• Flexible paid time off, sick time, and paid company holidays, in addition to paid parental leave, bereavement leave, and jury duty leave for full-time employees
• Health & wellness support through programs such as monthly wellness reimbursement 
• Working in a brand new, bright, open-environment and fun office space - there’s even a slide! 
• Choice of MacBook or intel based laptop

Genies is an equal opportunity employer committed to promoting an inclusive work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We value diversity, inclusion, and aim to provide a sense of belonging for everyone.