Software Engineer, Backend (Partner 16, Partner 18)

You will join the Applied Software Group at a16z crypto, a fully functional team of experienced backend engineers building internal software tools for the firm's investing and operations teams. You are a detail-oriented engineer with a strong interest in developing feature-rich, data-driven applications. Your work will focus on identifying, acquiring, and normalizing alternative data sources, and designing and implementing secure, scalable backend systems that power internal products. This role operates as an internal startup with meaningful ownership, frequent opportunities to ship, and close collaboration with experienced engineers.

What you'll do

• Build and maintain backend services that support internal data products and applications
• Work closely with investing and operations teams to understand workflows and translate requirements into reliable software solutions
• Contribute to the design and implementation of new features and systems, with guidance from more experienced engineers as needed
• Ship new data products iteratively, incorporating user feedback to continuously improve functionality and performance
• Take ownership of assigned services or projects from development through production support
• Write clear, well-structured, and maintainable code
• Collaborate positively with teammates and contribute to an inclusive, supportive engineering culture
• Stay curious about new tools, technologies, and approaches relevant to backend and data systems

What you bring

• 3+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong proficiency in Python 3 or another backend language, with willingness to learn new technologies
• Experience deploying production services on at least one major cloud platform (GCP, AWS, or Azure)
• Experience working with production SQL and NoSQL databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Elasticsearch
• Experience building and deploying containerized services
• Experience working in environments that value rapid iteration, code quality, and operational excellence
• Strong problem-solving skills and solid technical fundamentals
• Low ego, high empathy, and the capacity to collaborate effectively with diverse teams

Nice to have

• Familiarity with Kubernetes

What we offer

• Software Engineer (Partner 16): $269,000 - $314,000
• Senior Software Engineer (Partner 18): $301,000 - $352,000
• Eligibility for the a16z Carry program and various discretionary bonus programs
• Health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance
• 401K plan
• Vacation and sick leave
• In-office presence required 2-3 days per week in San Francisco, CA

About a16z crypto

Founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz is a venture capital firm with $100B+ under management across multiple funds, backing entrepreneurs building the future through technology. The firm invests stage-agnostically across AI, bio and healthcare, consumer, crypto, enterprise, fintech, games, and American dynamism. a16z has invested in companies including Anduril, Airbnb, Coinbase, Cursor, Databricks, Deel, Figma, GitHub, Roblox, SpaceX, and Stripe.