Software Engineer, Backend, Workflow Runner

About this role

Profound seeks a Backend Software Engineer to build the Workflow Runner, the core execution engine powering AI agents and intelligent workflows at scale. You'll design and own the distributed systems primitives—scheduling, state management, streaming, and orchestration—that enable reliable, composable AI workflows for Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups.

What you'll do

• Build core workflow engine primitives for orchestrating agents, tools, and dataflows
• Own the real-time control plane including streaming events, job orchestration, idempotency, and replay mechanisms
• Design Rust-first backend services and APIs for creating, executing, and supervising graph/DAG workflows
• Implement reliable job orchestration with multiple response modes and durable state management
• Strengthen tenant isolation, security, and access control across the platform
• Instrument systems with telemetry and raise standards for testing and operational excellence

What they're looking for

• Rust (production-grade)
• PostgreSQL and relational data modeling
• Distributed systems patterns (messaging, streaming, retries, idempotency, backpressure)
• Redis, caching, and state systems
• Real-time delivery (SSE, WebSockets)
• API authentication, authorization, and multi-tenancy security
• Workflow engines, schedulers, or agent runtimes (preferred)
• Containerization, CI/CD, and cloud environments

Benefits

• Competitive base salary: $140,000–$260,000 (varies by location)
• Equity compensation
• Full range of benefits and perks
• Visa sponsorship available for qualified international candidates
• On-site role in NYC or SF with fast-paced, collaborative team environment
• Opportunity to work on foundational AI infrastructure at a $1B-valued company