Jobs Companies Cantina Staff Software Engineer, Backend

About this Staff Software Engineer, Backend role at Cantina

Cantina · Onsite · Los Angeles or San Francisco

About Cantina:

Cantina Labs is a social AI company, developing a suite of advanced real-time models that push the boundaries of expression, personality, and realism. We bring characters to life, transforming how people tell stories, connect, and create. We build and power ecosystems. Cantina, our flagship social AI platform, is just the beginning.

If you're excited about the potential AI has to shape human creativity and social interactions, join us in building the future!

 

About the Role:

As part of the Backend Engineering team, you'll design, build, and scale systems and services that revolutionize how users engage with our cutting-edge AI-powered platform. This role is ideal for a self-sufficient senior software engineer who thrives in fast-paced environments.

What you’ll do:

  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers, designers, and data specialists, to deliver high-quality, performant, and maintainable features.

  • Build and enhance AI-powered systems supporting user acquisition, onboarding, and engagement.

  • Experiment with and implement new technologies to optimize user journeys and streamline customer experiences.

  • Gain exposure to the architecture and operations behind one of the fastest-growing social AI products globally.

  • Contribute your expertise to help evolve team processes and technical infrastructure, ensuring scalability and reliability.

What you’ll bring:

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

  • 5–10 years of professional software engineering experience, with expertise in backend and cloud architectures.

  • Proficiency in Golang, Node.js, Javascript, TypeScript, Postgres, and AWS (Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, S3).

  • Solid understanding of software design patterns, microservices architecture, and RESTful APIs.

  • Familiarity with third party services like Segment, Branch.io, or similar marketing tools.

  • Strong communication skills and a collaborative, team-oriented mindset.

Compensation:

The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is between $200,000 - $240,000. When determining compensation, a number of factors will be considered, including skills, experience, job scope, location, and competitive compensation market data.

 

Benefits:

  • Competitive salary and generous company equity

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance – 99.99% of premiums covered by Cantina

  • 42 days of paid time off, including:

    • 15 PTO days

    • 10 sick days

    • 15 company holidays

    • 2 floating holidays

  • Generous parental leave & fertility support

  • 401(k) retirement savings plan

  • Lifestyle spending account – $500/month to use however you’d like

  • Complimentary lunch and snacks for in-office employees

  • One Medical membership, and more!

Ready to apply to Cantina?
Apply to Cantina

How this Staff Engineer salary compares

This role pays $220,000/yrbelow the typical range for Staff Engineer roles.

$195,000 median $242,500 $351,375

Typical range $220,000–$281,938/yr, from 658 comparable Staff Engineer listings on JobsRadar (pay annualized to USD). See Staff Engineer salary insights →

Similar jobs

Sign up for suggestions tailored to the jobs you open and the searches you save.

More jobs at Cantina

See all jobs at Cantina →

Apply now
🤖

Whoa — hold up

JobsRadar was built for real people having a rough time in their job search — not for automated requests. You're clicking way too fast and you're now temporarily blocked.

Come back later. If you're genuinely job hunting, we've got your back — just act like a human.

Catch your next role the second it’s posted.

Create a free account and we’ll watch the boards for you — the instant a job matches your search, it lands in your inbox or Telegram. No digging, no refreshing.

Create free account

Free forever · takes 30 seconds · already have one?

Get an edge on your job hunt.

Join our Telegram channel for the stuff that helps you land the role — salary benchmarks, the weekly market pulse, and new-feature drops. No spam, just signal.

Join the channel — it's free