Senior Backend Application Engineer

Manifest is hiring a Senior Backend Application Engineer for a remote role open to applicants in United States. It pays $150k-$210k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Manifest.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
The posting lists this role as remote.
Tools and skills the posting cites include backend, etl and system architecture.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 4 other open roles at Manifest.

AI in this role

Senior Backend Application Engineer to design, scale, and maintain web services and ETL architecture.

backendetlsystem-architecturescalability

About Manifest

Manifest is on a mission to secure the global software and AI supply chain. Our platform automates the discovery and analysis of risks across internally built and third-party software and AI systems, giving security, product, and engineering teams complete visibility into the components and dependencies that make up their technology stack. From product security and AI risk to supplier risk and compliance, we help teams trust the software and AI they build and buy.

Founded by alumni from the Department of Defense, CISA, and Palantir, Manifest is backed by leading investors including Ensemble VC, First Round Capital, Homebrew, BoxGroup, XYZ Venture Capital, AE Ventures, Leap435, and Overmatch VC. The company partners with the US Air Force, DHS, Global 2000 companies, and critical infrastructure organizations across defense, automotive, and financial services to bring transparency, resilience, and trust to modern digital systems.

About the Role

Manifest is hiring a highly qualified, Senior+ backend software engineer responsible for designing and scaling new and existing web services and ETL architecture to support hundreds of thousands of transactions per second. This role will drive high-performance, resilient system designs in a fast-paced, data-intensive environment.

The impact you will have:

Architect and build robust, fault-tolerant web and ETL services that scale to high throughput.
Act as a key communicator, bridging gaps between teams, clarifying technical concepts, and ensuring alignment across projects.
Identify and implement improvements in system performance and processes, ensuring the company remains competitive in a fast-paced market.
Design and build new features for the Manifest platform to be used by critical organizations around the world.

As a Senior Backend Engineer - Product & Platform:

Architect and implement scalable web services and ETL pipelines
Design high-performance systems that efficiently handle 10K's+ transactions/sec
Collaborate with engineering teams to optimize existing systems and integrate new technologies
Develop robust monitoring, testing, and deployment strategies for mission-critical services
Define and maintain the high standards of our engineering culture. As a part of a high performing engineering team, you’ll help recruit and onboard your colleagues
Work closely with product management, designers, and other engineers
Resolve issues together quickly and collaboratively
Communicate internally and externally on what we’re building and why it’s special

As an experienced Backend Engineer you bring the following skills and experience to the team:

8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on web services and ETL systems
Proven track record scaling high-volume, data-intensive systems
Expertise in distributed systems, microservices, and cloud architectures
Familiarity with containerization, orchestration, and CI/CD pipelines
High proficiency in our primary stack (TypeScript, Mongo, Go, Python) is not strictly required, but you should be familiar enough to be able to quickly spin up on languages applicable to your role.
Previous experience with commercial software products (SaaS and on-prem) that support 3rd party/external customers.
Experience working in early-stage technology (B2B SaaS) startups
Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative environment

Bonus but not required:

Strong experience with MongoDB in particular and other data stores as well
Experience with or general familiarity with AI/ML, LLMs, & model tuning
Background or experience in infosec, red teaming, or broader cybersecurity concepts
Experience with other FOSS and Commercial SDLC security and DevSecOps tooling, including SCA, DAST, SAST, etc.

The benefits of working at Manifest include:

Salary: $150,000 – $210,000/year + meaningful stock options. Placement within the range depends on experience and skills.

🔍 Help organizations get newfound visibility into their software and be more secure!
🌎 Fully remote work (with potential for hybrid co-working)
🌴 Unlimited PTO (which we take seriously)
🏥 Medical/dental/vision insurance coverage for you and your dependents is paid at 100%!
💵 Competitive salary & meaningful stock options
🏦 401(k) and retirement options
⚒️ Help get in at the ground floor of a well-funded, early-stage startup!
🦄 Additional benefits to come (retirement, holiday gifts, etc.)

How we rate this

Senior Backend Application Engineer at Manifest rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Senior Backend Application Engineer is an open job at Manifest.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $150k-$210k a year.
The role is based in Remote-US and is marked remote.
The job was posted on September 8, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by Manifest. Apply on Manifest

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

BackendETLSystem ArchitectureScalability

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where backend was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where etl was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where system architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where scalability was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Backend, ETL, System Architecture, and Scalability. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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