Senior Backend Engineer, AI

Hi, we’re DuckDuckGo, the Internet privacy company for everyone who wants to take back their privacy now. For over a decade, we’ve been building our all-in-one product, developing new privacy technology, and working with policymakers to make online privacy simple and accessible for all.

Our app is now downloaded more than 78M times a year, and our private search engine packaged with it has become the #2 search engine on mobile in the United States and 18 other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. Oh, and we’ve been profitable since 2014, with revenue exceeding $100 million a year! Now, we’re rolling out a suite of new privacy solutions, including Email Protection, App Tracking Protection and our first-ever Desktop Apps for Mac and Windows.

We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer, AI to help shape our all-in-one privacy solution and join our mission to show the world that protecting your privacy online can be simple.

The Opportunity

In this role, you will leverage the latest advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence to help enhance our all-in-one privacy solution. You will lead complex projects across key company-wide objectives, writing pragmatic, testable code that’s performant and works consistently. You’ll collaborate remotely with your peers and take responsibility for solving product issues, whether large or small. In time, you’ll formally mentor other engineers, supporting their career growth and the growth of the Backend Team at DuckDuckGo.

What You Will Bring to DuckDuckGo

• 7+ years backend engineering experience, having worked on the backend side of at least one large application.
• A fundamental understanding of complex data structures and algorithms. You can develop and apply new solutions and confidently navigate and improve existing code. If you’re curious, we mostly use Perl.
• Technical depth to deal with the infinite triggering space to improve our search engine’s ability to understand and respond to user queries, and provide more accurate results.
• Deep understanding of AI methods and experience working with ML models on the application layer.
• A creative approach to problem-solving. You like to take the initiative to push a project forward but know when to get others involved.
• Effective project management skills.
• Excellent communication skills. You can validate and communicate your decisions clearly.
• Previous experience leading and mentoring experienced engineers, supporting their career goals, and unlocking their potential.

How We Will Support You

Our core values — build trust, question assumptions, and validate direction — underpin how we work day-to-day and the support we give our team members. We strive to empower our team members to be self-directed and self-motivated in their work.

• Remote First, Always: We’ve always been a fully distributed company with team members all over the world. We trust you to get your work done wherever, whenever.
• Commitment to Personal Growth: Every team member has an annual budget of $1,250 USD to invest in their professional development. Every team member also has a dedicated Career Advisor, who serves as a guide to help you develop your strengths, identify your motivations, and understand your opportunities for growth.
• Leadership: We have many different types of leaders and possible combinations of leadership roles, so you can grow your career in a way that aligns best with your personal goals. You can seek additional leadership roles by being directly responsible for projects, taking ownership of areas of the company, developing and maintaining internal processes, or pursuing advisory roles.
• Work/Life Balance: Team members have the freedom and flexibility to organize their own work schedules. We want you to thrive both in and out of the office. We trust you to use good judgment and take the time off that you need to bring your best self to work.

We also offer paid parental leave, a co-working stipend, office setup reimbursement, and a wellness stipend. More support resources can be found in our Team Member Support Guide, which explains how we make your well-being a priority.

Compensation

Annual compensation: $170,000 USD and stock options. Compensation is the same within a professional level, regardless of geographic location or functional area, and the compensation for each professional level is transparent across the organization.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DuckDuckGo provides equal work opportunities to all team members and applicants, and it prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, caste, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by our policies or federal, state, or local laws.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an email to c[email protected] to let us know the nature of your request.

If you think you might thrive in this environment, we would love to hear from you.

Please note that:

• Sometimes we meet up! Expect to travel at least two times a year: once for our all-hands meetup and again for a team retreat (each around 4-5 days). While extenuating circumstances may impact attendance, everyone is strongly encouraged to attend.
• While we offer a flexible work arrangement with no core hours, expect an average full-time commitment of 40 hours per week.
• A successful candidate will be subject to a background check and must receive satisfactory results of the same, as a condition of joining the team.
• By applying for this role, you confirm that all information submitted is accurate and complete. You further acknowledge that providing false or fraudulent information during the application process is cause for denial of an offer, revocation of any existing offer, or other adverse action, up to and including termination after the start of your commencement of work.

Apply now >