Software Developer – Backend (AI-Powered CAD Startup)

Software Developer Backend (AI-Powered CAD Startup) Pay: $110000 - $170000/Year
Location: San Mateo CA (Peninsula)
Schedule: Full time Permanent Role

Advatix is a technology-driven organization focused on building innovative solutions that empower businesses through scalable systems operational excellence and exceptional user experiences. We are committed to creating high-performing teams that thrive in fast-paced environments and deliver meaningful impact through technology and product innovation

Job Overview:
This backend engineering role requires a rare blend of production-grade software development and deep academic research expertise. You will own the core platform end-to-end designing and maintaining scalable backend services in Python while developing the APIs that power sophisticated AI-driven CAD workflows. Your daily work involves building robust systems using Flask or Django optimizing SQL schemas and deploying production services within cloud infrastructure. Beyond standard backend tasks you will be responsible for implementing and integrating custom machine-learning models into production features requiring you to translate complex research into reliable high-performance software. The ideal candidate possesses significant research depth typically evidenced by a PhD from a top-tier program or a substantial body of novel systems work including at least seven peer-reviewed publications at venues such as NeurIPS ICCV or ICML. You must be capable of writing custom PyTorch implementations of novel modules rather than relying on existing wrappers. This position is designed for a product-minded builder who thrives in a flat high-caliber founding team and prefers hands-on technical ownership over managerial titles. You will participate in the full development lifecycle from early technical design through launch ensuring that every feature is fast reliable and capable of handling the rigorous demands of hardware engineering.

Responsibilities:
This is a hands-on backend role on a tiny high-caliber founding team. As a Software Developer at Hestus youll help build the core platform that powers their AI-driven CAD tools for hardware engineers. Youll work primarily in Python owning backend features end-to-end from design and implementation through testing and deployment while collaborating closely with the founders on product direction.

What youll do:

Design build and maintain robust scalable backend services in Python.
Develop APIs and backend components that power Hestus AI-driven CAD workflows and improve overall system performance.
Collaborate with founders and cross-functional partners to define design and ship new product features.
Participate in code reviews testing and debugging to ensure high-quality reliable software.
Implement and integrate machine-learning models and algorithms into production features (with support from the ML team).
Diagnose and resolve production issues; improve observability and reliability over time.
Contribute across the full development lifecycle from early technical design through launch and iteration.
Stay current on relevant backend cloud and ML tooling and bring practical modern solutions back to the team.

Qualifications:

The client is looking for a backend engineer with research depth someone who has built novel ML systems from scratch and can take that work into production.
This is a backend engineering role but title user counts LLM API integration and CTO-at-a-startup are not signals for this hire.

Core backend engineering skills:

Strong Python and modern software engineering practices (testing code review version control)
Experience building backend services and APIs (Flask Django or similar)
Working knowledge of SQL and relational databases able to design query and optimize schemas
Comfortable with cloud infrastructure (AWS GCP or similar) and deploying production services
Track record of taking research or prototype code into reliable production-grade systems
Research depth (required) The client is benchmarking against:
PhD from a top ML or systems program (Michigan CMU Stanford MIT Berkeley Georgia Tech UIUC or equivalent) or an equivalent body of novel systems work
Published research at top venues (NeurIPS ICCV ICML IEEE) 7 peer-reviewed publications is the benchmark
Custom PyTorch implementations of novel modules not wrappers around existing libraries
Hands-on edge deployment experience

Work authorization:
US citizen or existing work authorization that does not require future sponsorship
Candidates on OPT/F1 will not be considered

Will not be considered:
Strong LLM-API integrators with no novel ML work
Startup CTOs whose primary signal is the title
Candidates without published research or equivalent evidence of novel systems work.

Ideal Candidate:
Product-minded builder who loves turning ideas into reliable maintainable code. Youre fluent in Python comfortable with backend frameworks like Flask or Django and you care about performance correctness and clean abstractions. Youre curious about how ML can power better tools even if youre not an ML expert yet and youre excited to work closely with founders and customers to ship the right thing not just more lines of code. Most of all you like small teams high ownership and the idea of spending the next few years working on a single hard problem: making AI-powered CAD the new standard for hardware design.

Must-Have Requirements:
Based in the US with existing work authorization; US citizen/visa only and able to work primarily on-site in San Mateo CA.
Hands-on experience with SQL and relational databases in a production or serious project setting.

Strong proficiency in Python and experience building backend services with Flask or Django.

Published peer-reviewed research (NeurIPS ICCV ICML IEEE or equivalent) or demonstrated body of novel ML systems work LLM/API integration does not qualify.

Benefits:
Health Insurance
Vision Insurance
Dental Insurance
US citizen/visa only
Competitive salary and meaningful equity options.
Comprehensive medical dental and vision coverage.
Catered team lunch in the San Mateo office.
Unlimited / flexible time off.
High-ownership role on a small senior founding team (YC-backed).
Opportunities for rapid growth and learning building AI-powered CAD