Member of Technical Staff (Backend Software Engineer)
Perplexity · San Francisco, CA · Platform & Infrastructure
About this role
Perplexity is hiring a staff-level Staff Engineer in the software engineering function based in San Francisco, CA. The posting calls out experience with System Design, Backend Development, Python, Java. Compensation is listed at $220,000–$405,000 per year.
- Role
- Staff Engineer
- Function
- software engineering
- Level
- staff
- Track
- Tech leadership
- Employment
- Full-time
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
- Department
- Platform & Infrastructure
- Posted
- Mar 3, 2026
More roles at Perplexity
Job description
from Perplexity careersPerplexity is looking for experienced Backend Engineers to build the foundational systems behind our core products. As we move toward agentic products that can reason, delegate, use tools, and execute complex workflows, backend engineering is one of the most important parts of making that experience reliable at scale. You’ll help design and operate the systems that connect models, data, product surfaces, and infrastructure into a platform millions of people and companies can depend on.
We’re hiring across several backend teams, and we’ll match you with a specific group after you complete the interview process, factoring in both your background and what you’re excited to work on. This lets us place engineers where their skills and interests line up with the highest-impact backend product work and the strongest opportunities for growth.
Teams Hiring
Cloud Infrastructure
The Cloud Infrastructure team owns the foundational cloud primitives and deployment models that power Perplexity's products, from multi-tenant public cloud to single-tenant and on-premises solutions for enterprise customers. As Perplexity expands into Computer and Enterprise offerings, this team is critical to delivering the security, isolation, and compliance controls that enterprise companies require, while maintaining the reliability and efficiency engineers depend on across all environments. By architecting flexible deployment topologies, multi-region support, and robust low-level infrastructure, the Cloud Infrastructure team enables Perplexity to scale from millions of consumer users to the world's largest organizations with confidence.