Backend Engineer

At Sift, we’re redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability over high-frequency telemetry—eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight systems, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Google, and Palantir, Sift is built for mission-critical systems where precision and scalability are non-negotiable.As an early engineer at Sift, you won’t just write code—you’ll help define the architecture, shape the product, and influence the culture of a company focused on solving real engineering problems. If you’re looking for complex technical challenges and the opportunity to build foundational systems supporting complex machines from the ground up, we want to hear from you.In This Role, You'll:Design and build a horizontally scalable platform for ingesting millions of data points from hardware sensors per second and a robust and durable database solution for storing, reading, and analyzing those pointsWork closely with customers, including hardware engineers, to understand their problems and find efficient solutionsHelp define engineering culture, standards, and processesCollaborate with peers on architecture, design, and code reviewsThe Skillset You'll Bring:Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, physics, or STEM discipline5+ years of experience in software engineering or data engineeringExperience working with in-stream data processing and analytics using Apache Kafka, Flink, Beam, or similarExperience with relational and non-relational databases, e.g. PostgreSQL, Druid, Pinot, Timescale, or similarExperience with data exploration tools like Grafana, Jupyter Notebooks, Metabase, PowerBI, or similarSelf-starter, able to navigate ambiguity and changing prioritiesTeam player with excellent communication skills and a collaborative work ethicBonus Points:Experience designing and building large-scale, distributed systems or web applications using Go, Python, or an equivalent languageStrong understanding of DevOps principles; version control, testing, continuous integration, build, deployment and monitoringEngineering At Sift:You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:Web frontend & backend: React, TypeScript, Redux, Tailwind, WebAssembly, D3.js, WebGL, and Go Data: Parquet, Flink, Kafka, Redpanda, Beam, DuckDB, Timescale, QuestDB, InfluxDB, and DruidInfrastructure: GitHub Actions, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and TerraformLocation:The Sift team is based in El Segundo. We collaborate in person two times per week, Monday and Thursday. We work closely with hardware companies, many of which are based in LA, building everything from autonomous vehicles to spacecraft. As a customer-centric company, being nearby for site visits and collaboration is essential. Sift is open to relocating you to LA.Salary range: $140,000 - $180,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.Eligibility:US Person Required: Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) compliance requirements.Compensation Range: $140K - $180K

At Sift, we’re redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability over high-frequency telemetry—eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.

Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight systems, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Google, and Palantir, Sift is built for mission-critical systems where precision and scalability are non-negotiable.

As an early engineer at Sift, you won’t just write code—you’ll help define the architecture, shape the product, and influence the culture of a company focused on solving real engineering problems. If you’re looking for complex technical challenges and the opportunity to build foundational systems supporting complex machines from the ground up, we want to hear from you.

In This Role, You'll:


- Design and build a horizontally scalable platform for ingesting millions of data points from hardware sensors per second and a robust and durable database solution for storing, reading, and analyzing those points
- Work closely with customers, including hardware engineers, to understand their problems and find efficient solutions
- Help define engineering culture, standards, and processes
- Collaborate with peers on architecture, design, and code reviews

The Skillset You'll Bring:


- Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, physics, or STEM discipline
- 5+ years of experience in software engineering or data engineering
- Experience working with in-stream data processing and analytics using Apache Kafka, Flink, Beam, or similar
- Experience with relational and non-relational databases, e.g. PostgreSQL, Druid, Pinot, Timescale, or similar
- Experience with data exploration tools like Grafana, Jupyter Notebooks, Metabase, PowerBI, or similar
- Self-starter, able to navigate ambiguity and changing priorities
- Team player with excellent communication skills and a collaborative work ethic

Bonus Points:


- Experience designing and building large-scale, distributed systems or web applications using Go, Python, or an equivalent language
- Strong understanding of DevOps principles; version control, testing, continuous integration, build, deployment and monitoring

Engineering At Sift:

You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:


- Web frontend & backend: React, TypeScript, Redux, Tailwind, WebAssembly, D3.js, WebGL, and Go 
- Data: Parquet, Flink, Kafka, Redpanda, Beam, DuckDB, Timescale, QuestDB, InfluxDB, and Druid
- Infrastructure: GitHub Actions, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform

Location:

The Sift team is based in El Segundo. We collaborate in person two times per week, Monday and Thursday. We work closely with hardware companies, many of which are based in LA, building everything from autonomous vehicles to spacecraft. As a customer-centric company, being nearby for site visits and collaboration is essential. Sift is open to relocating you to LA.

Salary range: $140,000 - $180,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.



Eligibility:

US Person Required: Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) compliance requirements.

Compensation Range: $140K - $180K

LocationEl Segundo, CAEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeHybridDepartmentEngineeringCompensationEstimated Base $140K – $180K • Offers Equity • Offers BenefitsSift's Guide to Understanding Startup Equity

LocationEl Segundo, CA


LOCATION
El Segundo, CA
Employment TypeFull time


EMPLOYMENT TYPE
Full time
Location TypeHybrid


LOCATION TYPE
Hybrid
DepartmentEngineering


DEPARTMENT
Engineering


COMPENSATION

- Estimated Base $140K – $180K • Offers Equity • Offers Benefits

Sift's Guide to Understanding Startup Equity

Sift's Guide to Understanding Startup Equity