Backend Software Engineer

Slang AI is redefining customer engagement through conversational AI, making every interaction seamless and efficient. Our mission is to transform the restaurant industry by providing the ultimate voice AI solution for consistently outstanding customer experiences.

At Slang AI, we believe how we build matters just as much as what we build. We foster a culture rooted in hospitality, ownership, and clarity, where every “Slangsta” feels valued, supported, and connected to the broader impact of our work in the AI-powered future of restaurants.

What your experience will be

You’ll join Slang’s Engineering team as a Software Engineer, contributing across our core product areas including telephony infrastructure, AI‑powered conversation features, and application functionality. Your work will help restaurants automate customer interactions and improve service through natural conversation. You’ll spend roughly 90% of your time developing backend services in Kotlin, with occasional contributions to React/TypeScript front‑end features as needed.

Your work will directly impact thousands of restaurant interactions daily, helping businesses streamline operations and deliver better customer experiences.

You’ll report to the Engineering Manager, collaborating closely with product managers, conversation designers, and fellow engineers. The role requires attendance at key ceremonies including daily standups at 1:00 PM ET, bi‑weekly cycle planning, and weekly Show & Tell sessions. As a software engineer, you’ll use modern collaboration tools like Slack, GitHub, and video conferencing to stay connected with the team.

Once ramped up, you’ll have opportunities to mentor junior and other mid‑level engineers through code reviews and pair programming sessions.

Why you belong here and how you will grow

Our engineering culture emphasizes pragmatic solutions, continuous learning, and collaborative problem‑solving. We believe in domain‑driven design, comprehensive testing, and building systems that gracefully handle the complexities of real‑world restaurant operations. You’ll work alongside engineers who are passionate about creating reliable, scalable conversational experiences and who regularly share knowledge through Show & Tell sessions and detailed technical documentation.

As a software engineer, you’ll gain exposure to cutting‑edge conversational AI technologies, telephony systems at scale, and modern cloud‑native architectures. You’ll deepen your expertise in Kotlin and functional programming while working with production systems handling real‑time voice interactions. The cross‑functional nature of the role will accelerate your growth toward senior engineering roles.

You’ll learn from experienced engineers while contributing your own perspectives to architectural decisions and technical standards.

What success looks like

• Design and implement scalable Kotlin backend services following domain‑driven design principles, with comprehensive error handling and testing
• Develop and maintain GraphQL APIs that efficiently serve both internal and external clients
• Create robust integrations with Twilio telephony services and Dialogflow conversational AI, handling edge cases and failure scenarios gracefully
• Design efficient Firestore data models that balance performance, cost, and maintainability
• Implement comprehensive observability including logging, metrics, tracing, and actionable alerting
• Deliver production‑ready code with appropriate test coverage (unit, integration, and end‑to‑end tests)
• Participate actively in code reviews, providing constructive feedback and incorporating suggestions
• Document technical decisions, API contracts, and system architecture clearly
• Deploy containerized applications to Google Cloud Platform following cloud‑native best practices
• Occasionally build or update React/TypeScript front‑end components that provide intuitive interfaces for restaurant staff and customers
• Collaborate effectively with cross‑functional teams to refine requirements and deliver features that meet business needs
• Contribute to technical design discussions and help establish coding standards and best practices

Required Qualifications

• 3‑5 years of professional software development experience, primarily in backend systems
• Strong proficiency in at least one JVM language (Kotlin, Java, or Scala) with understanding of functional programming concepts
• Experience building and consuming RESTful or GraphQL APIs
• Familiarity with NoSQL databases and data modeling concepts
• Experience with containerization (Docker) and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Strong understanding of software testing practices and test‑driven development
• Excellent debugging and troubleshooting skills
• Basic familiarity with React and TypeScript (occasional frontend adjustments may be needed)
• Ability to work independently and manage time effectively in a remote/hybrid environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for remote/hybrid collaboration
• Willing and able to take a week on‑call shift roughly every two months

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Kotlin specifically and its idioms
• Familiarity with GraphQL schema design and implementation
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform services (Firestore, Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub)
• Knowledge of telephony systems (Twilio or similar) and webhook integrations
• Experience with conversational AI platforms (Dialogflow, Lex, or similar)
• Infrastructure as code experience with Terraform
• Understanding of event‑driven architectures and distributed systems patterns
• Experience with observability tools and practices (structured logging, distributed tracing)
• Previous experience working in a fully remote or hybrid company
• Interest in restaurant/hospitality technology domain

How work affects my life

This software engineering position offers the flexibility of remote/hybrid work with competitive hourly compensation commensurate with mid‑level engineering market rates. You’ll have the autonomy to structure your 40‑hour work week while maintaining core collaboration hours with the team. The role provides an opportunity to work on meaningful technology that directly impacts small business owners and their customers, helping restaurants thrive through innovative conversational AI solutions.

Through this role, you’ll gain valuable experience working with enterprise‑grade systems and modern AI technologies, positioning you for future senior engineering opportunities. The exposure to production telephony systems, conversational AI, and scalable cloud architectures will expand your technical portfolio and worldview on how technology can transform traditional industries. You’ll be part of building solutions that make restaurant operations more efficient and customer experiences more delightful, contributing to the digital transformation of the hospitality industry.

Compensation & Location

Compensation for this role is location‑based and benchmarked against local market data aligned to the employee’s primary work location. Total compensation includes a mix of cash and equity and may vary by location, role level, and experience. Our range is therefore wide and not meant as a negotiation range.

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