Backend Engineer

The AI & Services team is where we stop improving existing things and start inventing what’s missing. We are the studio within the machine, tasked with exploring the bleeding edge of human-computer interaction. We don't just build websites; we build intelligence that feels alive. We are working to make tech feel less like a tool and more like a companion. This is a space for high-speed experimentation, where we prototype relentlessly to find the "magic" before scaling it to millions of users globally. If you want to build the future of how people talk to their devices, this is where it happens.

• Architect and build the underlying frameworks and patterns that power our AI service layer, ensuring our high-speed experiments scale seamlessly to a global user base.
• Rapidly prototype and ship novel AI interfaces—from voice and chat to multi-modal interactions—that define the next generation of the Phone (3) and Nothing OS experience.
• Translate experimental AI concepts into robust, production-grade applications using Node.js, Python, and Next.js.
• Bridge the gap between web services and hardware, working with our OS teams to blur the lines between mobile, web, and embedded surfaces.
• Optimise the feel of our services by obsessing over latency, real-time performance, and the micro-interactions that make a digital assistant feel responsive.
• Partner with Product Designers to invent entirely new interaction models, moving beyond the traditional screen-tap paradigm to create something designed to inspire.
• Own your deployment pipelines and cloud infrastructure choices, maintaining a high shipping velocity while ensuring 99.9% uptime for our global users.

• Technical Excellence: You bring battle-hardened experience in backend development with Node.js or Python, and you are comfortable navigating microservices and cloud-native infrastructure.
• A Drive to Own It: You thrive in ambiguity and don't wait for a ticket to be defined; you see the goal, grab the necessary API keys, and build the solution from scratch.
• Deep Product Pragmatism: You have a bias toward shipping and understand that a working prototype in a user's hands is worth infinitely more than perfect code that never launches.
• AI Fluency: You have hands-on experience or a deep curiosity for LLMs, vector databases, and RAG systems, understanding the unique constraints of building with non-deterministic models.
• Design Sensibility: You care deeply about how things look and feel, knowing that the quality of the animation and the speed of the response are just as important as the algorithm itself.
• Cross-Platform Mindset: You think outside the browser and understand how web technologies can drive experiences on mobile and embedded systems.
• Relentless Curiosity: You are constantly playing with new tools and agents because you want to see what they can do, always looking for ways to build something better.

We build better tech by moving fast. That speed demands direct collaboration and shared creative energy. We believe the best work happens when we're together.

• Location: London (Kings Cross & Farringdon offices).
• Working Pattern: This is a full-time, in-office role (5 days a week). We move fast, and that means being physically present. We design flexibility around personal needs, but we focus on the magic that sparks when we’re all in the same room.
• Commute: We ask that you live within a 60-minute commute of your home office location.