Senior software engineer - NodeJS (Founding Engineer)

Overview

Location: Work from Office (Hyderabad / Nagpur)
Experience: 4–9 years
Tech Stack: Node.js, PostgreSQL, Cloud-native services

About Univlane
Univlane is building an AI-powered enrollment and engagement platform that enables universities to operate faster, smarter, and at scale. Our backend systems power student journeys, AI-driven workflows, data pipelines, and other mission-critical services across the platform.
We are early in our journey, which means backend engineers at Univlane play a foundational role in shaping system architecture, scalability, and long-term engineering best practices.

The Role
We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to help design and build the core systems behind Univlane’s platform. This role focuses on building reliable, scalable backend services and thoughtfully integrating AI capabilities into real production workflows.
You will work closely with frontend, product, and applied AI teams to deliver features that directly impact how universities and students interact with the platform.

What You’ll Do
Backend & Platform Engineering
● Design, build, and operate backend services using Node.js
● Model and maintain core domain data using PostgreSQL
● Build APIs and workflows that support complex, stateful business processes
● Ensure systems meet high standards for performance, security, and reliability Applied AI Integration
● Integrate AI services (e.g., OpenAI, Gemini) into backend workflows where they provide clear product value
● Build and maintain retrieval-based systems that combine structured data with document and knowledge sources
● Design prompt and context pipelines that are deterministic, observable, and testable
● Handle production concerns such as latency variability, partial failures, and degraded AI responses
● Continuously improve quality, cost, and performance through measurement and iteration
Ownership & Architecture
● Own services end to end: design → implementation → deployment → monitoring
● Build safeguards, fallbacks, and controls around AI-dependent flows
● Contribute to architectural decisions and help define backend standards
● Mentor engineers and contribute to a strong, pragmatic engineering culture

What You’ll Bring
● Strong experience building backend systems using Node.js
● Solid understanding of relational databases, especially PostgreSQL
● Prior experience integrating LLM APIs into production systems
● Practical understanding of retrieval-augmented approaches and context construction
● Strong system design fundamentals and experience operating services in production
● Comfort working in ambiguous environments with high ownership
● Clear communication and sound engineering judgment

Nice to Have
● Experience working on workflow engines, automation platforms, or decision systems
● Familiarity with embeddings, vector search, or document indexing
● Experience with observability, cost monitoring, and reliability of AI-driven features
● Background in B2B SaaS or systems handling operational workflows
● Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical initiatives

Why Join Univlane
● Build foundational backend systems for an AI-powered platform from an early stage
● Work on real production problems with meaningful impact on universities and students
● High ownership and influence over architecture and engineering practices
● Small, focused team with strong technical standards
● Opportunity for rapid growth as the platform and team scale

Interview Process

1. Initial Screening (30–45 mins) ● Discussion with an engineering leader ● Review of your experience, projects, and current role ● Understanding your exposure to backend systems, data modeling, and applied AI ● Alignment on role expectations, location, and work setup
2. Coding & Low-Level Design (60–90 mins) ● Hands-on coding exercise (Node.js preferred) ● API design, data modeling with PostgreSQL, and clear, maintainable code ● Low-level design discussion covering schema design, error handling, and trade-offs
3. High-Level Design & Architecture (60 mins) ● Designing scalable backend services ● Workflow orchestration and state management ● Integrating AI services reliably into production systems ● Performance, observability, and failure handling
4. Culture & Ownership Fit (30–45 mins) ● Ownership mindset and decision-making ● Working in early-stage, high-impact environments ● Collaboration, communication, and feedback ● Alignment with Univlane’s values and way of working