Senior Backend Engineer

Join Praktika and lead the charge in driving exponential growth and innovation. Apply now to be part of a team that is redefining language learning for millions of users worldwide.

Praktika is an AI-native education company on a mission to deliver efficient, engaging language learning to billions of people worldwide. We're bridging the gap between traditional learning apps and human tutors through a fully automated tutorship experience powered by generative AI avatars.

Since launching our mobile apps in 2023, we've grown to over 2 million monthly active users, become one of the world's top-4 learning apps, and recently closed a $30M Series A to accelerate our roadmap. We're a fully distributed team of ~50 people across 4 continents and 15+ countries, working asynchronously to ship fast and operate at a high bar.

What You'll Do

• Design, develop, integrate, validate and operate new projects, features, bug fixes and other improvements.
• Architect and implement backend solutions with Python (FastAPI, asyncio), Databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB), Cache layers (Redis, Valkey), Message Brokers (Kafka, Redis Queues, Amazon SQS) and transport protocols (Rest APIs, Websockets, SSE, WebRTC with LiveKit).
• Work with teams directly: Mobile (Swift, Flutter), Web (React, Javascript), Data Analyst, Product, Designers on integrating new solutions.
• Develop well-architected, clean, maintainable, and testable code following clean architecture principles and ADRs agreed within the company.
• Write unit, integration, e2e tests to comprehensively own the quality of solutions you build, ensure reliability and support continuous integration and deployment.
• Utilize Terraform for Infrastructure-as-Code management, Docker for containerization and AWS ECS or EKS for deployments.
• Work with AWS infrastructure and apply DevOps best practices to improve scalability and reliability.
• Continuously improve processes and automate incoming requests from other teams by contributing to internal systems, automation scripts, shared skills, MCP, context and script libraries.
• Work closely with AI experts to build data-driven approaches to language learning.

How we work

• High-velocity: Rapid experimentation, lean autonomous teams, and minimal bureaucracy.
• Get things done: We commit and deliver whatever it takes in 1-week cycles. No handovers, no “it’s not my job”.
• AI first: We use AI to move faster with higher-quality results. We do this across the whole company—from engineering to growth to operations.
• Excellence everywhere: Everything we do should match the highest technical and product quality.

What We're Looking For

• Proven track record of leading B2C / Consumer-facing projects and measured impact on customers and business.
• 8+ years of backend development experience with strong Python expertise.
• Proven experience with ASGI frameworks such as FastAPI, Starlette, or similar technologies.
• Experience with SQLAlchemy or other ORM technologies.
• Strong knowledge of designing, maintaining, and optimizing both PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
• Experience with microservices and event-driven architectures, including system design and architecture skills.
• Solid understanding of clean architecture principles and writing highly testable code.
• Familiarity with Docker and containerized environments.
• AWS infrastructure and DevOps experience is a significant plus.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is a plus.
• Genuine passion for education technology and AI.

Why should you join Praktika:

• Be part of the story of one of the fastest-growing early-stage consumer AI companies globally.
• Work with a highly ambitious team using the best technologies on the market.
• Drive innovation and make a significant impact in the AI and education sectors.
• Competitive salary.
• Flexibility to work remotely.
• Health and wellness benefits to support your overall well-being.
• Opportunity for rapid career growth and personal development.
• Access to an AI toolkit including ChatGPT, Copilot, and other productivity tools.
• Annual educational budget of up to $1,000.