> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tbd-6fc993ce-mason-add-copy-page-to-context-menu.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Backend Engineer

* 🌆 **Location: SF or Cincinnati**
* 💰 **Salary: \$175,000 - \$250,000 + 0.5% - 1.5% equity**
* ⏳ **Years of experience: 5+**
* 💻 **Skills: Bun / Typescript, Go, Stainless, MySQL (PlanetScale)**

## About Kernel

We're building *the* developer platform that lets AI agents use applications, starting with browsers. Our edge is an infrastructure platform that's extensible, observable, and built for scale from day one.

Our **serverless platform** handles the hard stuff: autoscaling reliable browser infrastructure, observability, and enabling human-in-the-loop interactions in production.

**If you're interested in building critical infrastructure for the next generation of AI applications, we'd love to chat.**

## About the role

As **Founding Backend Engineer** at Kernel, you'll architect and build the core systems that power our AI agent platform end-to-end. You'll own critical developer-focused products from conception to production, working with bleeding edge tech that needs to be both reliable and low latency. You'll also play a foundational role in how we build Kernel's culture.

## What you'll do

* Design, develop, and scale new our product suite of **developer tools, CLIs, and APIs**
* Set direction for **critical technical surface areas**, enabling us to stay ahead of rapid growth
* Shape Kernel's hiring decisions and **culture** as we grow

## What we're looking for

* Experience building extensible APIs, SDKs, and databases designed for scale and high throughput
* \>=1 year of experience at a company with \<50 people
* **Technical excellence:** we're building core infrastructure that's default open source. As a developer tool, our technical decisions *are* the product, and the details matter a lot.
* **Low ego, high impact:** you care more about building something meaningful than who gets credit
* **Start-up ready:** early stage sometimes means figuring it out as we go, and that energizes rather than drains you
* **Excited to crush it:** we're moving fast and looking for people excited about high velocity, high impact work—and having fun along the way.

## What you can expect as a Kernel

* **Industry-competitive salary**
* **Above market equity**
* Premium **medical + dental coverage** + dependent coverage
* Small, trusting team of **senior + staff engineers**
* Default async—**minimal bureaucracy**, only one meeting a week
* **\$1k / mo budget** for LLM usage fees #vibecheck
* **Daily lunches** on us
* **Unlimited PTO**
* 401k + company match
* Relocation assistance

## Hiring process

We have a simple process focused on real world collaboration and jointly getting to know each other:

1. 30 minute **intro calls** with each of Kernel's co-founders (1 hour total)
2. Half-day on-site (virtual or in-person) working with our team and co-founders on relevant technical challenges.
3. **Offer!**

## How to apply

Add Catherine on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/juecd/) and include:

1. Your resumé
2. Past projects, work, and GitHub

We can't wait to hear from you!