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Sitch - Backend Engineer - NYC (Copy)

Posted 5 Days Ago

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2 Locations

In-Office

Mid level

Professional Services • Transportation • Consulting

The Role

Join as an early backend engineer building and scaling matchmaking and voice-AI systems. Design and ship backend features, optimize pairing algorithms, build admin tools, scale multi-market infrastructure, and own projects end-to-end while collaborating on architecture and product decisions.

Summary Generated by Built In

About Us

Sitch is a new kind of matchmaking platform, built around the idea that online dating doesn’t have to suck and that AI, used thoughtfully, can actually make it better.

We launched in NYC in 2024 and are backed by a16z’s Speedrun, Jeremy Liew (who wrote Snapchat’s first check) and many others. We’re expanding to new cities and building a small, high-performance team to take on real engineering challenges. From real-time voice AI to human-in-the-loop systems to matchmaking logic that actually understands what makes people compatible, the success of our company relies upon strong engineering talent building at the bleeding edge of consumer AI.

Our cofounder Nandini Mullaji is a former matchmaker who’s introduced hundreds of people in real life - not just built “engagement funnels.” Our product is trained on those setups and structured to avoid the things people hate most about dating apps: endless swiping, dead-end chats, and zero accountability. If you get ghosted on Sitch, you get your money back.

The team is small and hands-on. Our CEO, Chad DePue, is a repeat founder and longtime builder. Our CTO, Chris Grayson, has scaled infrastructure and led product and security teams at fast-moving startups like Clubhouse and Bird. We write code, review pull requests, and debug systems just like everyone else.

We’re not interested in building another AI novelty. We’re here to ship something people want with the right mix of ML, systems engineering, and product intuition to actually make it work.

If you’re looking for early ownership, fast iteration loops, and tough-but-interesting technical problems, we want to hear from you.

Why You Might Be Excited To Join

You’ll help lay the foundation. We’re just beginning to build out the core engineering team, which means you’ll have real input on architecture, infrastructure, tooling, and process. This is a rare chance to shape how things are done.
You’ll own meaningful work, fast. We’re launching into new cities, scaling our voice AI systems, and rolling out new matchmaking logic. We need people who can lead major initiatives from day one. In exchange for being a strong communicator and builder, you’ll get a ton of autonomy and trust.
You’ll work on real technical challenges. Scaling multi-market infrastructure, building out our own RAG system, designing human-in-the-loop workflows, managing voice-based AI integrations (with Twilio and ElevenLabs), and more. This isn’t a frontend-for-an-LLM wrapper; we’re building systems that need to last.
You’ll join at an inflection point. We’ve closed our next round and are seeing strong revenue and user growth in our first market. As we expand nationally, the technical and product complexity grows and we need sharp engineers to meet that moment.
You’ll work with experienced people who keep it fun. The current team is small, senior, and pragmatic. We’re fast, we’re scrappy, and we know how to prioritize. Everyone here is someone you'd want to be in the trenches with.
You’ll both ship and shape. This isn’t a ticket factory. We’re looking for engineers who care about the product, who think deeply about user experience, and who want to build systems that are simple to grow and maintain.

The Role

We’re looking for a backend engineer to join our NYC-based team as one of the first technical hires. You’ll work directly with company leadership to design, build, and scale the systems that power Sitch; from matchmaking logic and voice AI infrastructure to tooling that helps us launch and scale successfully in new cities.

This is a generalist backend role with a lot of surface area: one day you might be optimizing a matchmaking algorithm and the next day building admin tools to support a new market rollout. If you have startup experience and know how to navigate ambiguity, wear multiple hats, and ship high-quality code in fast cycles you’ll thrive here.

You’ll be joining at a moment when the architecture is still being defined, and there's a meaningful opportunity to shape the stack and our engineering culture for the long haul.

What You’ll Do

Ship core backend features across everything from matchmaking logic to AI infrastructure
Improve the performance and complexity of our introduction engine (we’re matching people pairwise, which means gnarly combinatorial complexity problems)
Develop internal admin tooling using TypeScript + React to help us support operations, manage users, and launch into new markets
Help scale systems as we move from one market to many, with real-time constraints, user location/timezone complexity, and new product surfaces
Collaborate to understand what users need and translate that into production-ready features
Take full ownership of projects, from planning to delivery to monitoring and scaling
Contribute to architectural decisions and long-term technical strategy
(Bonus) Occasionally dabble in light mobile or frontend changes, especially when it helps unblock progress

What We’re Looking For

We don’t care about degrees, pedigrees, or what stack you’ve worked in before. We care that you’re sharp, pragmatic, and know how to build. That said, here’s what tends to work well in this role:

Experience shipping production systems ideally at a startup or in a similarly fast-moving environment
Strong backend skills, especially in Python/Django, PostgreSQL, Redis, Celery, etc. (or enough experience to pick them up quickly)
Comfortable writing and maintaining internal tools using React + TypeScript
An eye for system design and tradeoffs; you know when to reach for the simplest solution, and when it’s time to invest
Familiarity with async patterns, queues, APIs, and real-time infrastructure is a plus
Experience working on a two-sided marketplace, matching, or ranking system is a big plus (but not required)
Someone who can own a project end-to-end, even when the spec is a little fuzzy
Strong communication skills; you're comfortable writing up a design doc, leaving a thoughtful PR comment, or asking a smart question

Benefits and Perks

Meaningful equity - As an early hire, you’ll have real ownership in the company and a front-row seat to the upside.
Full health coverage - We offer medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus an FSA.
Flexible, founder-backed PTO - We have an unlimited PTO policy, and we actually encourage people to use it.
NYC-based with flexibility - We expect 3 days in the office per week (we’re currently scoping space in Manhattan), but we keep things flexible and trust people to manage their own time.
Laptop and home office setup - We’ll get you what you need to do your best work, including a new laptop and home office stipend.
Build the company with us - You’ll help define not just our stack, but also our culture, rituals, and how we scale. This isn’t just an engineering job. It’s a seat at the table.