Lead Backend Engineer - AI

This role will play a central part in how Midnite scales internal operations and defines the practical use of AI across engineering and the wider business. You’ll lead the build of a greenfield back office platform while helping shape how AI is used to improve workflows, decision‑making, and efficiency across the company. You’ll combine technical leadership with hands‑on engineering, guiding a small team while building production systems that have direct business impact.

You will:

• Design and build scalable backend systems for Midnite’s internal back office platform.
• Lead and mentor a small team of engineers while remaining hands‑on in delivery.
• Write production code and use AI‑assisted development approaches to accelerate execution.
• Productionise and deploy AI‑powered tools for engineering and business use cases.
• Explore and apply technologies such as LLM APIs, agents, MCP servers, and RAG‑style patterns where they create real value.
• Collaborate closely with Product to shape requirements, technical solutions, and delivery plans.
• Work with internal stakeholders to understand operational pain points and turn them into effective tooling.
• Define architecture, engineering standards, and best practices for a new team and platform.

The next Midniter:

• Brings 7+ years of backend engineering experience, including time operating at a senior or lead level.
• Has experience leading or mentoring engineers in a hands‑on technical leadership capacity.
• Has built internal platforms, back office systems, or operational tooling.
• Has professional experience integrating LLMs or AI APIs into production environments.
• Has a solid understanding of databases (PostgreSQL or similar).
• Has strong system design instincts across scalable, reliable backend services.
• Has strong proficiency in Python (or another backend language with willingness to learn Python).
• Has cloud, deployment, and production engineering fundamentals, including CI/CD, observability, and infrastructure in modern environments.
• Brings strong ownership, product thinking, and a bias toward delivery.
• Communicates clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Winnings:

• Private health insurance with zero excess, including optical cover and optional dental.
• Income protection to protect your earnings and give you peace of mind.
• Tenure holiday policy. After three years you receive an extra two days leave, increasing to 30 days annually after five years.
• Flexible working and a fully supported home office setup so you can do your best work from home.
• Nursery salary sacrifice scheme helping parents save thousands each year on nursery fees.
• Salary sacrifice schemes for tech and holidays so you can spread the cost of the things you want.
• Retail discounts and subscription perks across a wide range of brands.
• Quarterly team socials to connect, celebrate and have fun together.

At Midnite, we’re committed to creating equal opportunities for everyone. We actively strive to build balanced teams that reflect the diversity of our communities, including ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, the LGBTQIA+ community, and all genders. We aim to provide an inclusive and supportive interview experience for all candidates. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please let us know in advance so we can ensure you feel comfortable and set up for success.