Senior Software Engineer, Backend

Who We Are

At TwelveLabs we are pioneering the development of cutting-edge multimodal foundation models that have the ability to comprehend videos just like humans do. Our models have redefined the standards in video-language modeling empowering us with more intuitive and far-reaching capabilities and fundamentally transforming the way we interact with and analyze various forms of media.

With a remarkable $107 million in Seed and Series A funding our company is backed by top-tier venture capital firms such as NVIDIAs NVentures NEA Radical Ventures and Index Ventures and prominent AI visionaries and founders such as Fei-Fei Li Silvio Savarese Alexandr Wang and more. Headquartered in San Francisco with an influential APAC presence in Seoul our global footprint underscores our commitment to driving worldwide innovation.

We are a global company that values the uniqueness of each persons journey. It is the differences in our cultural educational and life experiences that allow us to constantly challenge the status quo. We are looking for individuals who are motivated by our mission and eager to make an impact as we push the bounds of technology to transform the world. Join us as we revolutionize video understanding and multimodal AI.

About the Role

As a Senior Backend Software Engineer at TwelveLabs youll architect and build the infrastructure that powers AI-driven video workflows at scale. Youll join a small high-impact team and own the critical transition from prototype to production-ready platform.

While this role is remote eligible for candidates residing in the United States please note that remote employees will need to travel to the office for team meetups or other events as needed.

Interviewing in person in San Francisco will be required.

In this role you will

• Design and build backend services and orchestration layers powering agent capabilities including planning multi-step workflows tool invocation and context/memory management.

• Architect high-throughput service-oriented backend systems to support enterprise-grade SaaS solutions for diverse customers leveraging cloud-native tools (e.g. AWS GCP Azure).

• Optimize performance and reliability of distributed systems processing large-scale video data with low latency and high availability.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product managers frontend engineers AI/ML teams) to deliver end-to-end agent-driven video and content solutions.

• Apply video-specific technologies (e.g. encoding transcoding streaming metadata extraction) to enhance product capabilities and meet strategic goals.

You may be a good fit if you have

• Experience: 7 years of backend engineering experience with a proven track record of designing and delivering scalable web services and APIs as well as 0-1 development.

• API Expertise: Advanced proficiency in designing and implementing RESTful APIs adhering to OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.

• Technical Expertise: Deep expertise in service-oriented architecture (SOA) microservices and distributed systems with strong knowledge of scalable database design (e.g. relational NoSQL) and effective use of event-driven architecture.

• Cloud Proficiency: Extensive experience with cloud-native development and deployment on platforms like AWS GCP or Azure leveraging tools such as Docker Kubernetes or serverless frameworks to ensure scalability and resilience.

• Understanding of agent frameworks: Professional experience or deep understanding of agent frameworks (e.g. LangChain/LangGraph Haystack or custom orchestration engines).

• Hands-on experience designing and implementing advanced agent orchestration pipelines including multi-step reasoning tool invocation dynamic planning context/memory systems and integration through protocol-driven tool ecosystems such as MCP (Model Context Protocol).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Video Technology Experience: Hands-on knowledge of video-specific tools and frameworks (e.g. FFmpeg AWS Media Services) to support video processing workflows.

• Startup Agility: Experience thriving in fast-paced startup environments with a demonstrated ability to adapt quickly and deliver results with agility

• Python Proficiency for model integration or tooling.

• DevOps Practices: Exposure to CI/CD pipelines and observability tools (e.g. Prometheus Grafana) for building and monitoring scalable systems.

Even if there are a few checkboxes that arent ticked through your prior experience we still encourage you to apply! If you are a 0-1 achiever a ferocious learner and a kind and fun team player who motivates others you will find a home at TwelveLabs.

We are a global company that values the uniqueness of each persons journey. It is the differences in our cultural educational and life experiences that allow us to constantly challenge the status quo. We are looking for individuals who are motivated by our mission and eager to make an impact as we push the bounds of technology to transform the world. Join us as we revolutionize video understanding and multimodal AI.

Benefits and Perks

An open and inclusive culture and work environment.

Work closely with a collaborative mission-driven team on cutting-edge AI technology.

Full health dental and vision benefits.

Flexible PTO and parental leave policy. Office closed the week of Christmas and New Years.

VISA support (such as H1B and OPT transfer for US employees).

Required Experience:

Senior IC