Principal Backend Engineer

• Focus on friction points across backend engineering for all teams in Engineering, currently 90 engineers. • Tackle questions like how inter-service testing should work when some teams use a monorepo and others do not, and how to bring overall stability up. • Steer backend in the right direction, standardising practices across Engineering and bringing the R&D teams, another 40 engineers and researchers, closer in. • Work end-to-end, from the React client application through to the monolithic Python backend, leading projects that span multiple teams. • Consider the long-term direction of Engineering, developing the capabilities needed for challenges 12-18 months out. • Be based in the London office or work remotely from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, or Ireland, with other European locations possible subject to compliance and right to work checks.

• Have at least ten years of experience as a software engineer, including at least 2 at Senior Staff or Principal level (L7+). • Have previous leadership experience driving projects across multiple teams of 50+ engineers. • Have worked in a high-performing engineering organisation operating at scale, whether a scale-up or an established company known for building and shipping with a great engineering culture. • Work across the stack with deep server-side and backend knowledge. • Bring relevant engineering experience from a team building an enterprise-grade SaaS product. • Align strongly with commercial success. • Take ownership of projects spanning quarters, breaking problems into small steps that can be delivered and validated iteratively. • Evaluate your own work using the established data pipeline and frameworks, understanding the commercial impact of your features and pivoting where necessary.

• Have delivered an AI-powered video generation product. • Have built billing systems or experimentation platforms. • Have worked on video delivery systems or online editors. • Have built real-time collaboration features.

• Identify and resolve friction points around backend issues affecting every team in Engineering. • Define how inter-service testing should work across teams with differing repository setups. • Bring overall system stability up and steer backend direction across the organisation. • Standardise practices across Engineering and bring the R&D teams closer into that approach. • Own projects that span quarters, breaking them into iteratively deliverable and verifiable steps. • Measure the commercial impact of your features using the existing data pipeline and frameworks, and pivot where the data calls for it. • Shape the long-term direction of Engineering so the team stays ahead of challenges 12-18 months away. • Lead projects end-to-end across the React client and the Python monolith, spanning multiple teams.

• Earn a base salary starting at 200,000 in GBP, EUR, or CHF depending on location, plus a stock option plan. • Take 25 days of leave plus local public holidays. • Work on proprietary AI technology built in-house by a team of world-class AI researchers and engineers. • Serve 50,000+ customers including 90% of the Fortune 500, with brands such as Heineken, Zoom, Xerox, and McDonald’s. • Join a culture focused on building rather than talking, planning, or politicising, where people are hired to do their best work without distractions. • Work at a company that places AI safety, ethics, and security at the centre of its mission.

Synthesia is the world's leading AI video platform for business, used by over 90% of the Fortune 100. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, the company has offices and teams across Europe and the US, building products that enhance visual communication and enterprise skill development. Following a $200 million Series E round it is valued at $4 billion, with total funding exceeding $530 million from investors including Accel, NVentures, Kleiner Perkins, GV, and Evantic Capital.