Team Lead Backend Engineer (Data/API team)

HockeyStack is building the AI system that runs B2B sales and marketing.

We integrate with every tool across the go-to-market stack, combine it with first and third-party data, and build the most complete event-level data foundation in the industry. On top of it, we:

• Mine every won and lost deal to reverse-engineer the patterns that drive revenue, then deploy agents that guide reps through the optimal process deal by deal, in real time.

• Surface what's really driving pipeline and what isn't, replacing weeks of manual analysis with answers on demand.

• Learn from every outcome and every rep interaction, getting sharper over time — not just when someone rewrites a prompt.

We're not wrapping LLMs around prompts and guessing. We've built a structured reasoning layer that makes agent execution deterministic and self-improving — something no other player in the market has done.

Y Combinator alum. $26M Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners. 3× YoY growth. 8-figure ARR. 60+ TB of GTM data processed. We move fast and hire people who are ready to win. This role is open to being located in our San Francisco HQ or fully remote.

🚀 Your Mission

As the Backend Tech Lead on the Data API team, your mission is to architect and scale our core API infrastructure that powers mission-critical workflows for Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success teams. You’ll lead the engineering behind the services that serve 60+ TB of GTM data, delivering low-latency, high-availability APIs that expose deep buyer insights to our internal apps and customer-facing dashboards.

This is a defining opportunity for an engineer who wants to own massive data and API infrastructure, set a high bar for engineering excellence, and ship fast in a high-urgency environment.

🔧 What You’ll Do

• Lead the design and development of APIs that expose GTM data to internal and external users.

• Own end-to-end architecture for large-scale data access patterns, optimizing for performance, cost, and reliability.

• Collaborate closely with AI, data, and frontend teams to ensure seamless integrations and clean API contracts.

• Tackle complex problems like versioning, rate-limiting, auth, query complexity, and cache invalidation across a fast-evolving product surface.

• Build internal tooling to improve engineering velocity and observability for our backend systems.

• Drive engineering best practices, code quality, and testing in a fast-paced, high-output environment.

• Mentor engineers and set the technical direction for the team.

🧬 What We’re Looking For

• Ownership-first mindset — you take initiative, move fast, and figure things out

• Thrive in early-stage, high-urgency environments where speed and impact matter

• Fully committed to working in-person 5 days/week at our SF HQ

• Curious, self-aware, and feedback-driven — you bring energy, not ego

• See this role as a defining chapter — not a stepping stone or side quest

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience, ideally with exposure to high-scale systems.

• Deep experience with modern backend stacks – we use Node.js, ClickHouse and AWS

• Strong understanding of API design principles, query optimization, and distributed systems.

• You’ve worked with large-scale data systems (think TBs of data) and know how to manage performance, cost, and uptime at scale.

• Startup mindset – you move fast, figure things out, and don’t wait to be told what to do.

• Comfortable owning ambiguity – you define the problem, architect the solution, and ship the result.

✨ Why Join Now?

We’re at an inflection point. The product is proven, the market is massive, and the opportunity is wide open. You’ll be joining a company with real traction, rapid growth, and meaningful backing—where every person still shapes the outcome. This isn’t just a job. It’s a chance to build something category-defining with people who care deeply about doing it right.

As part of our San Francisco, California-based team, the salary range for this role is $200,000– $240,000 USD base pay annually, depending on experience and qualifications.

HockeyStack is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We celebrate diversity and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees.