Backend Engineer, Inference

Our mission is to make the world programmable. Sight is one of the key ways we understand the world, and soon this will be true for the software we use, too.

We’re building the tools, community, and resources needed to make the world programmable with artificial intelligence. Roboflow simplifies building and using computer vision models. Today, over 1M+ developers, including those from half the Fortune 100, use Roboflow’s machine learning open source and hosted tools. That includes counting cells to accelerate cancer research, improving construction site safety, digitizing floor plans, preserving coral reef populations, guiding drone flight, and much more.

Roboflow is supported by great customers and investors, having raised over 63 million from Y Combinator, Google Ventures, Craft Ventures, Sam Altman, Lachy Groom, amongst other leading software investors.

Roboflowers are passionate builders who value ownership, accountability, and a bias toward action. We're curious, hands-on with new tech, and prefer showing our work over talking about it. Many of us have a founder mindset and thrive in our high-autonomy environment.

Roboflow Inference is used by thousands of developers across the world, from individual builders to researchers and enterprise teams. It also powers Roboflow’s customer facing APIs and is a core part of our internal production stack. In this role, you’ll build and scale Inference and the systems around it. You will work on production APIs and runtime systems for image and video inference, which include:

• Building, extending, maintaining, and scaling Inference

• Adding new Workflow blocks and capabilities

• Improving our Workflows Execution Engine powering our no-code computer vision workflow builder

• Integrating new vision model capabilities

• Optimizing performance and reliability (latency, throughput, batching, GPU runtime utilization, memory, cold starts)

• Diagnosing and debugging full stack issues across Python services and JavaScript/TypeScript that touches the inference product surface

• Maintaining our SDKs and Open Source Libraries

• Writing documentation & example code

• Build a scalable Video Streaming API and realtime video processing capabilities

• Integrate Qwen3-VL in Inference

• Add new visualization Workflow Blocks

• Implement PDF ingestion for Inference

• Add dynamic graph pruning to the Execution Engine

• Create a connection between Workflows and S3

• Implement a Secrets Vault for users

• Architect and implement an SSL solution solution for edge devices

• 4+ years professional experience building production software in Python

• Comfortable contributing in JavaScript/TypeScript when needed

• Strong engineering mindset: modular code, tests, CI/CD, operational ownership

• Functional literacy in AI/ML concepts

• Bonus: familiarity with computer vision concepts

• Execution-Oriented: Cares about delivering value to real users

• Startup Ready: Experience working in startups or in high-ownership roles; comfortable with autonomy, ambiguity, and rapidly shifting priorities

To determine your salary, we use a number of market and data-driven salary sources. We review all salaries every six months to ensure we stay in line with the market.

💰 The target compensation for this role is $163,000 - $180,000 base (depending on level / location).

📈 In addition to our cash compensation, we offer generous perks and benefits. Below are some of the highlights:

• $4000/yr Travel Stipend to travel anywhere anytime to work alongside other Roboflowers

• $350/mo Productivity stipend to spend on things that make your work environment more productive, like high-speed internet at home or a co-working space

• Cover up to 100% of your health insurance costs for you and your partner or family

• Equity in the company so we are all invested in the future of computer vision

Below is the interview process you can expect for this role. We are all motivated to work with an exceptional team and you will be speaking directly with our team about what it's like to work and thrive at Roboflow. We like to be decisive and work fast, so don't be surprised if all the below conversations happen over a day or two.

Before the Interview:

• We’ll review your application, LinkedIn, Github, etc.

• The best way to stand out is to write about something you’ve built with Roboflow or share your contributions to any of our open source projects.

• We may send you a technical screen if applicable.

Introduction Phase:

• [30m] Meet with hiring manager for introduction to assess for overall mindset and skillset.

• [60m] Technical assessment with a Roboflow engineer.

Team Interview Phase:

• [45m] Build a project with Roboflow and present it to our CTO, Brad Dwyer

• [45m] Meet with the hiring manager again - use this time to review specifics about Roboflow and the role. Ask questions!

Final Interview Stage:

• [45m] Meet with Kate Wagner, Head of Operations for a culture discussion.

• [60m] Meet with Joseph Nelson, CEO.

Note: you are welcome to request additional conversations with anyone you would like to meet and we will accommodate as best we can.

We are building a diverse Satellite team that is distributed across the globe. Roboflow is an equal opportunity workplace; we welcome people from all backgrounds, communities, and experiences.

We provide competitive compensation and stellar benefits to accelerate your personal and work life. Learn more about what it is like to work at Roboflow by reading these blog posts.

At Roboflow, we believe great ideas come from everywhere—and everyone. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.