Backend Engineer – Core Data Systems & AI Infrastructure Development (Remote/Hybrid)

Join arenaflex's Core Data Systems Team

Are you ready to be part of a transformative journey in artificial intelligence? At arenaflex, we're not just building technology—we're shaping the future of how humanity interacts with intelligent systems. Our Core Data Systems team is the backbone of our AI research and development, ensuring that our models receive timely, reliable, and high-quality data to train the next generation of AI systems that align with human values and needs.

This is your opportunity to architect the data infrastructure that powers groundbreaking products like ChatGPT and future innovations yet to be imagined. We're looking for a talented Backend Engineer who thrives in a fast-paced, intellectually challenging environment and is passionate about building scalable systems that make a real impact on the world.

About the Core Data Systems Team

At arenaflex, our Core Data Systems team is the critical enabler of our mission to develop safe and universally beneficial artificial general intelligence. This team provides the essential data and infrastructure that power the entire research organization. Every AI breakthrough—from our conversational AI assistants to advanced code interpretation capabilities—begins with the high-quality data curated, processed, and managed by our dedicated data systems engineers.

The volume of data required to train our increasingly sophisticated AI models has grown exponentially as we push the boundaries of what AI can achieve. Our team designs, deploys, and maintains the data infrastructure necessary to process and manage this data at massive scale from hundreds of diverse sources. We are responsible for ML data management, tooling, and the platforms that enable our researchers to innovate faster and more effectively.

We leverage data from AI trainers to power alignment research and train models to utilize real-time information when answering questions. By harnessing high-quality data from both artificial and human experts across countless domains, and by leveraging arenaflex's own ML models to supercharge data collection and quality control, we're building the foundation for AI systems that are truly helpful, harmless, and honest.

What You'll Do

As a Backend Engineer on our Core Data Systems team, you'll play a pivotal role in architecting, building, and maintaining the infrastructure that powers arenaflex's data generation and management platform. This is a hands-on technical role where you'll have the opportunity to make architectural decisions that impact the entire organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and Build Data Infrastructure: Design, develop, and deploy the backend systems and services that power our data generation and management platform. You'll work with petabytes of data and build systems that scale to meet the demands of training cutting-edge AI models.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work closely with product managers, researchers, and engineering teams to create new products around emerging research capabilities and unsolved customer needs. You'll be the bridge between research innovations and production-ready systems.
• Drive Technical Excellence: Iterate rapidly to improve consumer and developer experience while advancing scalability, performance, observability, and security. You'll own problems end-to-end and be willing to pick up any knowledge you need to get the job done.
• Build Internal Tools: Create tools to accelerate your own and your teammates' workflows, but only when off-the-shelf solutions won't do. We believe in building custom solutions when they provide meaningful value.
• Ensure Data Quality: Implement robust systems for data validation, quality assurance, and pipeline monitoring to ensure our AI models receive the best possible training data.
• Optimize Performance: Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, implement caching strategies, and optimize database queries to ensure our systems can handle massive workloads efficiently.

What We're Looking For

We're seeking a candidate who brings significant experience in building and scaling production systems and has a genuine passion for solving complex technical challenges. The ideal candidate will have a deep appreciation for end-user experience and take pride in building products that solve real customer needs.

Essential Qualifications

• Strong Backend Development Experience: Significant experience building and maintaining production systems, with the ability to design scalable architectures from the ground up.
• Programming Proficiency: Strong skills in at least one programming language such as Python, Go, or Java, with experience in writing efficient, maintainable code.
• Data Engineering Skills: Experience working with large-scale data processing systems, databases, and data pipelines. Familiarity with distributed systems is a plus.
• Problem-Solving Mindset: Ability to approach complex challenges with creative solutions and a willingness to learn new technologies as needed.
• Ownership Mentality: A track record of taking end-to-end ownership of problems and seeing them through to resolution, no matter what obstacles arise.
• Collaborative Spirit: Excellent communication skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams including researchers, product managers, and other engineers.
• Bachelor's Degree: Required in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure


• Background in machine learning or AI systems development


• Familiarity with data pipeline orchestration tools like Airflow, Luigi, or similar


• Experience with stream processing systems (Kafka, Pulsar, etc.)


• Knowledge of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes)


• Understanding of data warehousing solutions and columnar databases

Why arenaflex?

At arenaflex, we believe that building safe and beneficial AI requires diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. We're committed to creating an inclusive environment where every team member can thrive and contribute to our mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

Work Environment

We offer flexible working hours and the opportunity to work remotely or in a hybrid arrangement. Our offices are designed to foster collaboration and creativity, with spaces for focused work and team gatherings. We believe in trust-based management and give our employees the autonomy to structure their work in ways that maximize their impact and well-being.

Career Growth & Learning

Professional development is a priority at arenaflex. We provide an annual learning and development stipend of $1,500 per year to support your continued growth. You'll have access to cutting-edge projects, mentorship opportunities, and the chance to work alongside some of the brightest minds in AI research. As our team grows, there are abundant opportunities for career advancement into senior technical roles, team leadership positions, or specialized technical tracks.

Compensation & Benefits

We offer competitive compensation that reflects the value of your skills and contributions. The hourly salary range for this position is $35–$45 USD, depending on experience and qualifications. In addition to base compensation, we offer generous equity participation, comprehensive benefits, and numerous perks designed to support your well-being and work-life balance.

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family


• Mental Health Support: Access to mental health and wellness resources


• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) plan with 4% matching


• Paid Time Off: Unlimited paid time off plus 18+ company holidays per year


• Parental Leave: 20 weeks of paid parental leave with family planning support


• Professional Development: Annual learning and development stipend ($1,500/year)


• Commuter Benefits: Support for your daily commute


• Life Insurance: Life and AD&D insurance coverage


• Fertility Benefits: Fertility treatment and family planning coverage


• Flexible Spending Accounts: FSAs for healthcare and dependent care


• Team Culture: Regular team celebrations, events, and employee resource groups


• Daily Meals: Complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including freshly baked cookies


• Conference Budget: Domestic conference budget for each employee

Our Mission & Values

At arenaflex, we're driven by a clear mission: to ensure that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of what AI systems can do, always with safety and human needs at the core. We believe that AI is an extraordinarily powerful tool that must be created with careful attention to safety and human values.

To achieve our mission, we must embrace and value the diverse perspectives, voices, and experiences that shape the full spectrum of humanity. We're a equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Ready to Make an Impact?

If you're excited about the opportunity to build the infrastructure that powers the future of AI, we want to hear from you. This is a chance to work on technically challenging problems at scale, collaborate with world-class researchers and engineers, and make a meaningful contribution to one of the most important technological endeavors of our time.

Join us in our mission to ensure that artificial intelligence develops in ways that are safe, beneficial, and aligned with human interests. At arenaflex, you'll find not just a job, but a purpose—a place where your skills and passion can help shape the future of technology for the benefit of all humanity.

Location: Colorado, USA (Remote/Hybrid)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Hourly Salary Range: $35–$45 USD