At a Glance
- Tasks: Build and operate backend systems for voice generation and text-to-speech services.
- Company: Join Synthesia, a leading AI video platform trusted by top brands.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, stock options, 25 days leave, and remote work flexibility.
- Other info: Dynamic team culture with opportunities for rapid growth and innovation.
- Why this job: Be part of the AI revolution and make a real impact on visual communication.
- Qualifications: Experience in backend systems, Python/FastAPI, and a product-focused mindset.
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.
About the role
You will work on the core systems powering Synthesia’s script preview and voice generation experience, ensuring users can reliably generate high-quality voiceovers across a wide range of languages, providers, and use cases. You will build and operate backend services that orchestrate multiple text-to-speech (TTS) providers, alongside Synthesia’s in-house models, delivering a seamless and consistent experience to end users despite underlying system complexity.
You will be responsible for designing and evolving systems that handle provider reliability, request routing, and output consistency, ensuring users can generate and regenerate voice content with predictable, high-quality results. You will contribute to user-facing product problems from a backend perspective, working closely with frontend engineers to ensure APIs and workflows integrate cleanly into the product experience.
You will own projects that span multiple systems and domains, such as:
- Building robustness layers (retries, throttling, failover) to handle unreliable third-party providers
- Designing persistence systems to ensure consistent voice outputs across generations
- Improving how voice data is stored, retrieved, and reused
You will also work on newer initiatives around voice discovery and recommendations, helping users find the best voices by building evaluation systems, improving recommendation logic, and adding observability to monitor quality. You will evaluate your work through system performance and user experience metrics, using observability to debug and continuously improve reliability. You will collaborate closely with product, frontend, and R&D teams, ensuring backend systems support both current product needs and future innovation.
What we’re looking for
- You have several years of experience building and operating backend systems in production.
- You’re a strong backend engineer (we use Python/FastAPI) with experience designing reliable, observable services, ideally working with third-party APIs or distributed systems.
- You have a product mindset and focus on solving user-facing problems, not just backend architecture.
- You’re comfortable working close to the client, understanding how APIs are consumed and how backend decisions impact the end-user experience.
- You’re willing to step outside your comfort zone — including jumping into frontend code when needed to debug and understand end-to-end flows.
- You work well in an iterative, experiment-driven environment, shipping quickly and improving based on data and feedback.
- Experience with observability tools (e.g. Datadog), workflow systems (e.g. Temporal), or evaluation/recommendation systems is a plus, but not required.
- Comfortable with touching the frontend in any language and/or framework.
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.
Other important info:
- 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.
Remote Backend Engineer - Voice & TTS Systems employer: Synthesia
At Synthesia, we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic and innovative work culture that empowers our employees to excel in their roles. As a leader in AI technology, we offer competitive salaries, generous leave policies, and a collaborative environment where your contributions directly impact the future of visual communication. Join us in our mission to revolutionise the way businesses communicate, while enjoying opportunities for personal and professional growth in a supportive remote setting.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Remote Backend Engineer - Voice & TTS Systems
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company inside out! Research Synthesia's products, values, and recent news. This will help you tailor your conversations and show genuine interest during interviews.
✨Tip Number 2
Network like a pro! Connect with current employees on LinkedIn or attend industry events. A friendly chat can sometimes lead to referrals, which can give you a leg up in the hiring process.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for those technical interviews! Brush up on your Python and FastAPI skills, and be ready to discuss your past projects in detail. Practice coding problems that relate to backend systems to boost your confidence.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up! After your interviews, send a quick thank-you email to express your appreciation. It’s a nice touch that keeps you fresh in their minds and shows your enthusiasm for the role.
We think you need these skills to ace Remote Backend Engineer - Voice & TTS Systems
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the role. Highlight your experience with backend systems, especially in Python/FastAPI, and how it relates to the job description. We want to see how you can contribute to our voice and TTS systems!
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In your application, share examples of how you've tackled user-facing problems from a backend perspective. We love seeing candidates who think about the end-user experience and can demonstrate their product mindset.
Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use clear language to describe your past projects and experiences. We appreciate clarity, and it helps us understand your journey better!
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. We can’t wait to hear from you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Synthesia
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in Python and FastAPI, as these are key to the role. Brush up on your experience with backend systems and be ready to discuss how you've designed reliable services in the past.
✨Understand User Impact
This role is all about user-facing problems, so think about how your backend decisions affect the end-user experience. Prepare examples of how you've solved user issues through backend solutions in previous projects.
✨Prepare for Collaboration
You’ll be working closely with frontend engineers, so be ready to discuss how you’ve collaborated across teams. Think of specific instances where you jumped into frontend code or worked on cross-functional projects.
✨Show Your Problem-Solving Skills
Expect to tackle real-world problems during the interview. Familiarise yourself with system design concepts and be prepared to discuss how you would approach challenges like provider reliability and output consistency.
