Senior Backend Engineer Applied AI Track (m/w/d)(Leipzig)

Job description

MAIA is the AI platform built for industrial companies, where generic AI tools break down because the data is complex, the stakes are high, and precision actually matters. We focus on the hard problems, integrating with real engineering workflows, understanding complex technical documents, and turning implicit organizational knowledge into something the whole company can build on. Our goal is to become the leading AI knowledge management platform for industrial companies in Europe, built for the companies that shape the physical world. Our team consists of structured organizational talents, creative minds, and technology-enthusiastic engineers, all with several years of experience in B2B SaaS and AI. We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer (f/m/x) to join our engineering team in Leipzig. This role is for an experienced engineer who is excellent at building production-grade backend systems and is excited to grow deep into applied AI on the job. You don't need to be an AI expert on day one. You need to be a strong engineer with the curiosity and capacity to become one. This role is based in Leipzig with 2 to 3 days per week in the office. Tasks You build and evolve MAIA's core product capabilities. Your focus is backend and AI systems, RAG pipelines, retrieval strategies, agentic workflows, and LLM integrations that work reliably in production. In the first months your contribution starts on the backend side, where you immediately add value through your engineering experience. As you ramp up, you progressively take ownership of AI-specific work, with deliberate space to learn, experiment, and develop expertise. Concretely, you will: Design, implement, and ship features from discovery to production rollout, with a strong focus on backend and AI functionality. Build and iterate on RAG pipelines, retrieval strategies, and LLM integrations, making pragmatic tradeoffs across quality, latency, and cost. Build evaluation approaches for LLM features, including quality gates, regression detection, and observability that makes non-deterministic systems debuggable. Proactively scout new technologies and approaches, translate findings into production-ready solutions, and push the team's understanding of what is possible. Collaborate closely with Product, DevOps, and customer-facing teams to turn requirements into high-quality, maintainable software. Contribute to engineering standards, code reviews, and the technical direction of the team as a senior voice. Requirements Technical requirements Significant senior-level experience as a backend engineer, with a track record of designing, shipping, and operating non-trivial production systems end-to-end. Strong backend engineering skills in TypeScript, or another strongly typed language (Go, Java, Rust) plus solid TypeScript fundamentals and the ability to contribute productively in a TypeScript codebase from day one. Deep experience designing and shipping production REST APIs, including versioning, error handling, and backwards compatibility in real systems. Strong SQL skills, ideally with PostgreSQL in production, including schema design, performance tuning, and safe schema evolution. Practical experience debugging production systems using observability tooling such as Grafana, Sentry, PostHog, or equivalents. Ability to follow secure development best practices in day-to-day engineering work. Hands-on experience working with LLMs and first exposure to RAG or retrieval concepts. This can come from production systems, internal tools, side projects, or prototypes. What we expect is a basic working understanding of how LLM and RAG applications are built, not years of production AI experience. What matters most is genuine interest in this space and a clear motivation to grow deep into it. Fluent in English. German is a plus. Ways of working Strong ownership mentality, you take responsibility end-to-end, without needing to be managed. Senior judgment, you know when to invest, when to ship simple, and when to push back on scope. People enjoy working with you, not just because of what you know, but because of how you interact with them. AI is becoming part of how you work. Even if you are not yet building production AI features, you experiment with AI tools in your engineering workflow and have informed opinions about where they help and where they don't. Pragmatic builder, you ship solutions at the right level of complexity for the stage, and you can explain why a simpler approach was the right call. You prioritize based on business impact and customer value, not technical interest alone. Comfortable working in a fast-moving startup environment with ambiguity and shifting priorities. You communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Nice to have Experience with Supabase. Experience with document analysis pipelines and preprocessing for retrieval. Experience with automated evaluation and testing for LLM features. Technical leadership, including mentoring, setting standards, or leading cross-cutting initiatives. Benefits What we offer you: A central role in the engineering team of a well-funded, fast-growing AI startup building for the industrial sector, where the AI problems are genuinely hard and the impact is tangible. Deliberate runway to grow into applied AI on the job, with senior-level guidance and access to the full team's expertise. Short decision-making paths, real ownership, and a team that trusts you to drive your work. Direct impact on product quality, AI capability, and company growth. A working setup that combines focused remote work with the energy of being in the same room. 2 to 3 days per week in our Leipzig office, the rest of the week from wherever you work best. Access to a WellPass fitness membership for your physical and mental wellbeing. Competitive salary and VSOP (Virtual Stock Option Plan) participation opportunities. This role is based in Leipzig. We expect you to be in our Leipzig office 2 to 3 days per week, with the remaining days flexible. Hiring timeline: We are aiming to have this role filled by June 2026. The process consists of three stages, an intro call (30min), a technical interview (90min) and a final conversation with leadership. We move quickly and will keep you informed at every step. If this role sounds like the right next step for you, we would love to hear from you.