Senior backend engineer (conversational ai)

Company DescriptionYuna's mission is to radically transform the way mental health support is accessed and delivered. By providing 24 / 7 instant and private support at the push of a button, we aim to address the significant gaps in mental health care accessibility. In a system where waiting times for therapists can reach up to 48 days and many people can't even afford care, Yuna is the answer to immediate mental health support needs.We’re growing quickly, and every person who joins us plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of mental health technology.Position OverviewYou’ll be the backbone behind Yuna’s conversational stack—owning services, data, and runtime that make our AI safe, fast, and reliable at scale. You’ll partner with the Staff ML Engineer to turn models into resilient, observable, HIPAA-aware product experiences.What you’ll doDesign, build, and operate services for conversation state, user memory, retrieval, and tool integrations (REST / g RPC).Work closely with clinical psychologists (both internal and external to Yuna), ensuring the efficacy of Yuna’s conversational AICollaborate with front end teams for API creation, QA, and implementationImplement alignment & safety layers (e.g., self-harm detection, red-teaming, refusal strategies, escalation paths) tuned to clinical guidelinesOptimize for latency, cost, and qualityPartner tightly with product, sales, and users to scope new features andWhat you’ll bring5+ years building backend systems in production (Go / Python / Node JS), with strong systems and API design skillsHands-on experience with AI agents, RAG pipelines, and LLMsCloud infrastructure expertise (Google Cloud Platform)Proficiency with relational + vector / search systems and real-time communication (sockets, Web RTC)Nice to have : Swift (i OS client integration)Strong product sense; you care about user outcomes, not just model metricsComfort working with ambiguity and creating systems 0 to 1Location : Remote (work from anywhere, with at least 4 hours overlap with PST)Employment Type : Full TimeWhat We OfferCompetitive salary (based on experience) + equity optionsRemote-first culture with flexibilityA fast-growing, talented, and empathetic team dedicated to transforming mental health careThe opportunity to make a real-world impact, building cutting-edge AI systems and real-time communication platforms that improve lives every day