Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer) in London
Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer)

Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer) in London

London Full-Time 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Perplexity

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Build scalable backend systems for innovative AI products and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
  • Company: Join Perplexity, a cutting-edge tech company shaping the future of AI.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Other info: Dynamic environment with a focus on innovation and career advancement.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by developing foundational systems that power millions of users.
  • Qualifications: 4+ years in backend engineering with strong skills in cloud infrastructure and programming.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

Perplexity is looking for experienced Backend Engineers to build the foundational systems behind our core products. As we move toward agentic products that can reason, delegate, use tools, and execute complex workflows, backend engineering is one of the most important parts of making that experience reliable at scale. You’ll help design and operate the systems that connect models, data, product surfaces, and infrastructure into a platform millions of people and companies can depend on.

We’re hiring across several backend teams, and we’ll match you with a specific group after you complete the interview process, factoring in both your background and what you’re excited to work on. This lets us place engineers where their skills and interests line up with the highest-impact backend product work and the strongest opportunities for growth.

Teams Hiring

  • Cloud Infrastructure: The Cloud Infrastructure team owns the foundational cloud primitives and deployment models that power Perplexity's products, from multi-tenant public cloud to single-tenant and on-premises solutions for enterprise customers. As Perplexity expands into Computer and Enterprise offerings, this team is critical to delivering the security, isolation, and compliance controls that enterprise companies require, while maintaining the reliability and efficiency engineers depend on across all environments. By architecting flexible deployment topologies, multi-region support, and robust low-level infrastructure, the Cloud Infrastructure team enables Perplexity to scale from millions of consumer users to the world's largest organizations with confidence.
  • Storage Platform: The Storage Platform team owns the infrastructure that powers how Perplexity persists, retrieves, and manages data across all systems, ensuring high availability, performance, and cost-efficiency for every product and AI workload. This foundational, high-impact group is responsible for the full spectrum of storage technologies – relational databases, vector databases, custom storage implementations, and the tooling to provision, monitor, and optimize them at scale. By building robust abstractions and operational excellence around storage, the team enables engineers across Perplexity to focus on product innovation while trusting that data is fast, reliable, and always accessible.
  • Backend Platform: The Backend Platform team is the backbone of Perplexity’s product reliability, scalability, and performance, enabling every product and AI team to build with confidence. This small, high-impact group builds and maintains critical infrastructure, including backend systems for authentication, authorization, real-time data flows, service orchestration, and sandboxing, to ensure fast, reliable, and secure user experiences. By setting rigorous standards for code quality, uptime, and developer productivity, the Platform team ensures everyone at Perplexity can innovate at speed on top of a robust, well-architected foundation.

You Might Be a Good Fit If You

  • Have strong backend engineering fundamentals with experience building scalable, distributed systems in production
  • Have deep hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure), databases (relational and NoSQL), caching systems, and observability tooling
  • Are proficient in Python or similar backend languages (Go, Rust, Java) and comfortable picking up new technologies as needed
  • Thrive in environments where requirements evolve quickly and enjoy working closely with product managers, AI researchers, and cross-functional teams to ship high-impact features
  • Have worked with large-scale data systems, streaming pipelines, or orchestration platforms, and understand the tradeoffs between performance, reliability, and cost
  • Care deeply about code quality, system design, and operational excellence, and take ownership of what you build from design through deployment and beyond
  • Have 4+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of shipping meaningful backend systems that serve real users at scale

Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer) in London employer: Perplexity

At Perplexity, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture. Our teams are dedicated to empowering engineers with opportunities for growth and development, allowing you to work on impactful projects that shape the future of technology. With a focus on cutting-edge cloud infrastructure and backend systems, you'll be part of a dynamic environment where your contributions directly influence the reliability and scalability of products used by millions worldwide.
Perplexity

Contact Detail:

Perplexity Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer) in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry, attend meetups, and connect with current employees at Perplexity. A friendly chat can sometimes lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised!

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Build a personal project or contribute to open-source software that showcases your backend engineering chops. This not only demonstrates your expertise but also gives you something tangible to discuss during interviews.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for technical interviews by practicing coding challenges and system design problems. Use platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to sharpen your skills, and don’t forget to brush up on cloud infrastructure concepts relevant to the role.

✨Tip Number 4

Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining the Perplexity team. Let’s get you in the door!

We think you need these skills to ace Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer) in London

Backend Engineering Fundamentals
Scalable Distributed Systems
Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Relational Databases
NoSQL Databases
Caching Systems
Observability Tooling
Python
Go
Rust
Java
Large-Scale Data Systems
Streaming Pipelines
Orchestration Platforms
Code Quality
System Design
Operational Excellence

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that match the job description. Highlight your backend engineering fundamentals and any relevant projects you've worked on, especially those involving scalable systems.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're excited about the role and how your background aligns with our needs. Share specific examples of your work with cloud infrastructure or data systems to make your application stand out.

Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t forget to mention your proficiency in Python or other backend languages. If you’ve worked with AWS, GCP, or Azure, let us know! We want to see how your technical expertise can contribute to our teams.

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the right team based on your skills and interests.

How to prepare for a job interview at Perplexity

✨Know Your Tech Stack

Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially cloud infrastructure and backend languages like Python. Brush up on your experience with distributed systems and be ready to discuss specific projects where you’ve implemented these technologies.

✨Showcase Problem-Solving Skills

Prepare to tackle hypothetical scenarios or technical challenges during the interview. Think about how you would approach building scalable systems or optimising performance. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers and highlight your problem-solving abilities.

✨Understand the Company’s Vision

Familiarise yourself with Perplexity’s products and their mission. Be prepared to discuss how your skills align with their goals, particularly in creating reliable backend systems for agentic products. This shows that you’re not just looking for a job, but are genuinely interested in contributing to their vision.

✨Ask Insightful Questions

Prepare thoughtful questions that demonstrate your interest in the role and the company. Inquire about the team dynamics, the challenges they face, or how they measure success in backend engineering. This not only shows your enthusiasm but also helps you gauge if the company is the right fit for you.

Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer) in London
Perplexity
Location: London

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