At a Glance
- Tasks: Develop and maintain secure, reliable backend systems for our enterprise platform.
- Company: Join Synthesia, a leading AI video platform trusted by top brands worldwide.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, stock options, 25 days leave, and remote work flexibility.
- Other info: Dynamic team culture focused on innovation and collaboration.
- Why this job: Be part of the AI revolution and make a real impact in a fast-growing company.
- Qualifications: 7+ years in software engineering with strong backend development experience.
The predicted salary is between 130000 - 130000 € per year.
Synthesia is the world’s leading AI video platform for business, used by over 90% of the Fortune 100. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in London, with offices and teams across Europe and the US. As AI continues to shape the way we live and work, Synthesia develops products to enhance visual communication and enterprise skill development, helping people work better and stay at the center of successful organizations.
Following our recent Series E funding round, where we raised $200 million, our valuation stands at $4 billion. Our total funding exceeds $530 million from premier investors including Accel, NVentures (Nvidia's VC arm), Kleiner Perkins, GV, and Evantic Capital, alongside the founders and operators of Stripe, Datadog, Miro, and Webflow.
About the role: You will work on core enterprise platform systems, focusing on backend services that ensure Synthesia is secure, reliable, and scalable for our largest customers. You will contribute to distributed backend systems and shared platform services, and be responsible for the safe and reliable operation of these systems in production. You will have ownership of projects that span months and multiple teams, requiring you to break down complex, ambiguous problems into clear steps that can be delivered and validated iteratively. You will work closely with product, security, legal, and infrastructure partners, and will be expected to translate business and regulatory requirements into scalable technical solutions. You will evaluate your work through system health and reliability metrics, leveraging observability and monitoring to ensure systems meet performance, reliability, and compliance expectations. You will consider the long-term direction of the platform, ensuring that the systems we build today can support future scale, enterprise requirements, and evolving regulatory needs.
What we're looking for:
- At least seven (7) years of experience as a software engineer, with experience operating at a senior or staff level.
- You have experience building and operating backend systems at scale, ideally within platform or enterprise-focused teams.
- Strong expertise in backend development and system design. Experience across the stack is a plus, but this role is primarily backend-focused.
- Relevant engineering experience for teams building enterprise-grade systems; this may include areas such as security, compliance, data handling, access control, multi-tenant systems, or platform services.
- Experience owning systems in production, including observability, incident response, and reliability improvements.
- Ability to work across teams and functions, aligning with stakeholders and driving technical initiatives end-to-end.
- Strong alignment with building reliable, scalable systems that support long-term product and business goals.
- Previous experience leading projects or mentoring other engineers is a plus.
Why join us? We’re living the golden age of AI. The next decade will yield the next iconic companies, and we dare to say we have what it takes to become one.
Our culture: At Synthesia we’re passionate about building, not talking, planning or politicising. We strive to hire the smartest, kindest and most unrelenting people and let them do their best work without distractions. Our work principles serve as our charter for how we make decisions, give feedback and structure our work to empower everyone to go as fast as possible.
Serving 50,000+ customers (and 50% of the Fortune 500): We’re trusted by leading brands such as Heineken, Zoom, Xerox, McDonald’s and more.
Proprietary AI technology: Since 2017, we’ve been pioneering advancements in Generative AI. Our AI technology is built in-house, by a team of world-class AI researchers and engineers.
AI Safety, Ethics and Security: AI safety, ethics, and security are fundamental to our mission. While the full scope of Artificial Intelligence's impact on our society is still unfolding, our position is clear: People first. Always.
The hiring process: 30-40min call with our Technical Recruiter, 45min call with an Engineering Manager about your past projects, 90min Live Coding interview, a collaboration exercise with our Engineer (not Leetcode style), 60min System Design, technical discussion usually about a real problem we had in production, 45min call with leadership, focus on examples of collaboration, growth and going through details of your future team. The process does not need to take long - we can be done in seven working days.
This is a remote role from an EU country, UK or Switzerland. The salary starts at EUR/GBP/CHF 130,000 base + stock option plan. This is full-time employment only - no contractors possible - usually through OysterHR. Everyone at Synthesia gets 25 days of leave + local holidays (no extra paid or unpaid leave possible). We only sponsor VISA if you are in the UK/EU country already and need support.
Staff Backend Engineer, Enterprise in London employer: Synthesia
At Synthesia, we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic and innovative work culture that empowers our employees to excel in their roles. With a strong focus on AI technology and a commitment to ethical practices, we offer competitive salaries, generous leave policies, and opportunities for professional growth within a collaborative environment. Join us in London or remotely from the EU, UK, or Switzerland, and be part of a team that is shaping the future of visual communication.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Backend Engineer, Enterprise in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at Synthesia on LinkedIn or other platforms. A friendly chat can give you insider info and might even lead to a referral, which can boost your chances of landing that interview.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews by diving deep into Synthesia's products and values. Show us you understand our mission and how your skills align with what we do. Tailor your examples to highlight your experience in backend systems and enterprise solutions.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Get comfortable with live coding exercises and system design discussions. Use platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to sharpen your skills, but remember, we’re looking for collaboration and problem-solving, not just textbook answers.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows us you’re genuinely interested in joining our team at Synthesia.
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Backend Engineer, Enterprise in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Staff Backend Engineer. Highlight your experience with backend systems, especially in enterprise environments, and don’t forget to showcase any leadership or mentoring roles you've had.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you’re passionate about AI and how your skills align with Synthesia’s mission. Keep it concise but impactful, and let your personality come through.
Showcase Relevant Projects:When detailing your past projects, focus on those that demonstrate your ability to build scalable and reliable systems. Be specific about your contributions and the technologies you used, as this will resonate with us.
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 role. Plus, it shows you’re keen on joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Synthesia
✨Know Your Backend Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your backend development skills, especially around distributed systems and scalability. Be ready to discuss your past experiences in building and operating backend systems at scale, as this is crucial for the role.
✨Prepare for System Design Questions
Expect to dive deep into system design during your interview. Familiarise yourself with real-world problems you've solved in production and be prepared to explain your thought process and the decisions you made along the way.
✨Showcase Your Collaboration Skills
Since you'll be working closely with various teams, it's important to highlight your ability to align with stakeholders. Prepare examples of how you've driven technical initiatives across teams and how you’ve mentored others in your previous roles.
✨Understand AI Ethics and Security
Given Synthesia's focus on AI safety and ethics, it’s beneficial to have a grasp of these concepts. Be ready to discuss how you can contribute to building secure and compliant systems, and why these aspects are important in today's tech landscape.