Backend Developer

Applied Retention is a Mumbai-based AI startup on a mission to kill the static, if/then marketing journey. We are building an innovative, AI-powered customer intelligence and decisioning platform that delivers dynamic, highly contextual 1:1 personalization. By equipping businesses with cutting-edge AI/ML, we’re shaping the future of intelligent customer interactions—and maximizing marketing ROI in the process.

The RoleAs our Founding Backend Engineer, you hold a founder-level seat. You will own the technical vision and the platform end-to-end. You are the architect of the systems that pull data from warehouses, CRMs, and CEPs; the engine that dictates the right offer, channel, and moment; and the execution layer that pushes those decisions live.

You won't just manage the product—you’ll write the core yourself, make the foundational architecture calls, and eventually build and lead the engineering team behind it.

What You’ll Own

• Core Architecture & Development: Architect and build the core platform, including data ingestion pipelines, AI/ML transformation layers for intelligent decisioning, and APIs for marketing data delivery.
• The Big Decisions: Make the foundational technical calls on architecture, tech stack, build vs. buy, and release prioritization.
• Seamless Integrations: Build robust, scalable integrations connecting disparate customer data sources (warehouses, CRMs, and CEPs).
• Infrastructure & Scale: Own the platform's reliability, security, and scalability as our data volume and customer base explode.
• Product Strategy: Partner directly with the founder to shape the product roadmap, design, and overarching technical strategy.
• Team Leadership: Transition from individual contributor to engineering leader as you hire, mentor, and scale the technical team.

What You Bring

• Experience: 2–5 years of experience shipping production-grade software.
• Background: Proven track record as a Senior Backend Engineer, Data Engineer, or Architect.
• Technical Chops: Deep expertise in Python, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Redis, and AWS.
• Systems Thinking: Heavy-hitting backend engineering skills encompassing distributed systems, APIs, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructure.
• Builder Mentality: You are hands-on. You love writing code and building from scratch, not just delegating it.
• Data/ML Fluency: You don't need to build the decisioning models yourself, but you must know how to architect the data infrastructure around them.
• Ambiguity Tolerance: You thrive in 0-to-1 environments and take absolute ownership of your work.
• Leadership: You have the ability to set technical direction, hire senior talent, and lead a high-performing team.

Bonus Points

• Previous experience as a founding engineer or early technical leader who scaled a product from zero.
• Domain experience building MarTech, data infrastructure, or API-first B2B SaaS platforms.
• High fluency with modern AI/LLM tools and coding assistants to accelerate development.

What You Get

• Founder-Level Seat: The rare opportunity to build and own a category-defining company from day one.
• Massive Impact: Direct influence over product, strategy, and company trajectory.
• Compensation: Competitive salary + significant equity (standard 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff).