Senior Software Engineer, Backend

At TwelveLabs, we are pioneering the development of cutting-edge multimodal foundation models that have the ability to comprehend videos just like humans do. Our models have redefined the standards in video-language modeling, empowering us with more intuitive and far-reaching capabilities, and fundamentally transforming the way we interact with and analyze various forms of media.

With a remarkable $107 million in Seed and Series A funding, our company is backed by top-tier venture capital firms such as NVIDIA’s NVentures, NEA, Radical Ventures, and Index Ventures, and prominent AI visionaries and founders such as Fei-Fei Li, Silvio Savarese, Alexandr Wang, and more. Headquartered in San Francisco, with an influential APAC presence in Seoul, our global footprint underscores our commitment to driving worldwide innovation.

We are a global company that values the uniqueness of each person’s journey. It is the differences in our cultural, educational, and life experiences that allow us to constantly challenge the status quo. We are looking for individuals who are motivated by our mission and eager to make an impact as we push the bounds of technology to transform the world. Join us as we revolutionize video understanding and multimodal AI.

As a Senior Backend Software Engineer at TwelveLabs, you’ll architect and build the infrastructure that powers AI-driven video workflows at scale. You'll join a small, high-impact team and own the critical transition from prototype to production-ready platform.

While this role is remote eligible for candidates residing in the United States, please note that remote employees will need to travel to the office for team meetups or other events as needed.

Interviewing in person in San Francisco will be required.

• Design and build backend services and orchestration layers powering agent capabilities, including planning, multi-step workflows, tool invocation, and context/memory management.

• Architect high-throughput, service-oriented backend systems to support enterprise-grade SaaS solutions for diverse customers, leveraging cloud-native tools (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure).

• Optimize performance and reliability of distributed systems, processing large-scale video data with low latency and high availability.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product managers, frontend engineers, AI/ML teams) to deliver end-to-end agent-driven video and content solutions.

• Apply video-specific technologies (e.g., encoding, transcoding, streaming, metadata extraction) to enhance product capabilities and meet strategic goals.

• Experience: 7+ years of backend engineering experience, with a proven track record of designing and delivering scalable web services and APIs, as well as 0-1 development.

• API Expertise: Advanced proficiency in designing and implementing RESTful APIs, adhering to OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.

• Technical Expertise: Deep expertise in service-oriented architecture (SOA), microservices, and distributed systems, with strong knowledge of scalable database design (e.g., relational, NoSQL) and effective use of event-driven architecture.

• Cloud Proficiency: Extensive experience with cloud-native development and deployment on platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure, leveraging tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, or serverless frameworks to ensure scalability and resilience.

• Understanding of agent frameworks: Professional experience or deep understanding of agent frameworks (e.g. LangChain/LangGraph, Haystack or custom orchestration engines).

• Hands-on experience designing and implementing advanced agent orchestration pipelines, including multi-step reasoning, tool invocation, dynamic planning, context/memory systems, and integration through protocol-driven tool ecosystems such as MCP (Model Context Protocol).

• Video Technology Experience: Hands-on knowledge of video-specific tools and frameworks (e.g., FFmpeg, AWS Media Services) to support video processing workflows.

• Startup Agility: Experience thriving in fast-paced startup environments, with a demonstrated ability to adapt quickly and deliver results with agility

• Python Proficiency for model integration or tooling.

• DevOps Practices: Exposure to CI/CD pipelines and observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana) for building and monitoring scalable systems.

Even if there are a few checkboxes that aren’t ticked through your prior experience, we still encourage you to apply! If you are a 0-1 achiever, a ferocious learner, and a kind and fun team player who motivates others, you will find a home at TwelveLabs.

We are a global company that values the uniqueness of each person’s journey. It is the differences in our cultural, educational, and life experiences that allow us to constantly challenge the status quo. We are looking for individuals who are motivated by our mission and eager to make an impact as we push the bounds of technology to transform the world. Join us as we revolutionize video understanding and multimodal AI.

Benefits and Perks

🤝 An open and inclusive culture and work environment.

🧑‍💻 Work closely with a collaborative, mission-driven team on cutting-edge AI technology.

🦷 Full health, dental, and vision benefits.

✈️ Flexible PTO and parental leave policy. Office closed the week of Christmas and New Years.

🛂 VISA support (such as H1B and OPT transfer for US employees).