Job Title: Principal Software Engineer – Backend Employment Type: Full-time Location: Remote (Preferred Dallas) About DeepHow DeepHow is a Physical AI platform for industrial manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and utilities that helps organizations capture expert know-how, turn it into dynamic work instructions, and drive verified execution on the front line. The platform spans knowledge capture and sharing, AI-powered verification through Smart Compare and photo/video validation, and time and motion intelligence through guided workflows, SOP adherence, and real-time execution visibility. DeepHow supports customers from knowledge capture to verified execution, with strategic account expansion often centered on verification, AI-guided workflows, and time and motion intelligence. The Role We're looking for a Principal Backend Engineer to lead the design and development of our backend systems, enabling rapid, high-quality product releases in a fast-moving environment. Responsibilities & Requirements ● SaaS Expertise: Experience working in a SaaS company is required. ● Architecture & Leadership: Lead the architecture, development, and optimization of scalable backend systems; provide technical mentorship and leadership within an agile, fast-paced startup team. ● Polyglot Backend Development: * Expert in Node.js for building high-performance applications. ○ Proficient in Python development for backend services, automation, or data processing. ● Cloud Infrastructure (GCP): Proficient with Google Cloud Platform (GCP), including BigQuery, Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, App Engine, Compute Engine, and GKE. ● Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Hands-on experience using Terraform to provision and manage cloud resources efficiently and consistently. ● Observability & Monitoring: Skilled in implementing observability tools (e.g., Datadog, New Relic, or GCP Cloud Monitoring) to ensure system health, logging, and proactive issue resolution. ● Data Management: * Experience with Redis, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and Firestore for scalable data storage. ○ Experience designing and maintaining data pipelines and working with large datasets. ● Networking & Orchestration: * Skilled in Docker and Kubernetes (GKE) for container orchestration. ○ Strong understanding of VPC, load balancers, and cloud networking fundamentals. ● DevOps & Security: * Hands-on experience building and managing CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins. ○ In-depth knowledge of OAuth, SAML, and secure authentication/authorization mechanisms. ○ Familiar with infrastructure security best practices: secret management, service account keys, encryption, and secret rotation. ● Performance & Reliability: * Experience with system performance tuning, scaling, and fault tolerance. ○ Proven ability to deliver production-grade, maintainable code under tight timelines. ● Media Processing (Plus): Experience with video transcoding, FFmpeg, and HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) is a strong plus. Education & Experience Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience) 10+ years of experience in backend software engineering, with a strong track record of building and scaling production systems Experience in a SaaS or cloud-native environment is required Prior experience in a Principal, Staff, or Senior Lead Engineer role, with demonstrated ownership of architecture and system design Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives and mentor engineering teams Experience working in fast-paced startup or high-growth environments is strongly preferred Exposure to AI/ML-driven platforms, data-intensive systems, or industrial/manufacturing domains is a plus