Distributors move and sell the vast majority of physical products we use every day. As a critical part of the economy, they account for more than 28% of GDP. Yet despite their importance, this sector has long been underserved by modern technology. This gap makes it difficult for distributors to scale and modernize their operations. That’s where Proton comes in. We deliver an AI-powered sales enablement platform designed to help distributors grow, operate smarter, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing B2B sales landscape. 

Our company is experiencing rapid growth. We’ve achieved strong year-over-year revenue expansion and recently closed a $20M Series A round led by Felicis Ventures (investors in Twitch, Shopify, Opendoor, and many others) alongside Battery Ventures. It’s an exciting moment to become part of the Proton.ai team. 

About Us 

The wholesale distribution space is ready for meaningful change, and Proton is driving that transformation. Distributors play a central role in selling nearly every physical product worldwide, yet the industry has lagged behind in adopting modern technology. Proton is closing that gap. Our AI-driven sales platform cuts through the complexity of managing millions of products and helps sales teams better anticipate customer needs. Our mission is to modernize the distribution industry—and the impact is real. Customers using Proton achieve up to 10x ROI, onboard new hires faster, and see stronger engagement from their sales teams. 

In 2022, we raised a $20M Series A led by Felicis Ventures and Battery Ventures. This year, our focus is on accelerating customer growth. If you’re excited about wearing multiple hats, learning quickly, and experimenting in a fast-moving environment, this is the right time to join Proton. 

The Role 

Proton is hiring an experienced Senior Backend Engineer to join our rapidly scaling SaaS engineering team. Reporting to the Director of Engineering, you will play a key role in shaping the technical direction of the Proton.ai product and platform. You will collaborate closely with the engineering team to build an application that is scalable, customizable, high-performing, and secure. 

We’re seeking a technically strong engineer with a deep curiosity for modern technology stacks and system design, someone who can help evaluate and implement solutions that will support the long-term evolution of our platform. 

Proton partners with Oyster HR to hire international team members as full-time, long-term contractors. 

The annual gross salary range for this role is USD $50,000–$70,000, depending on experience. 

What You’ll Do 

Feature Development: Lead backend development for new features while working closely with Product to understand technical complexity and trade-offs. Contribute across the full stack, taking features from concept to production and delivering tangible value to customers. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work alongside backend, frontend, infrastructure, and DevOps engineers to provide architectural input and ensure technology decisions support future growth. 

Enterprise Customization: Apply your experience with enterprise-grade software to adapt our platform to the specific needs of large customers. 

Performance and Reliability: Share best practices for building high-performance, reliable systems and contribute to discussions around end-to-end architecture and data flows. 

You’ll Be a Great Fit If You 

• Have extensive experience as a senior or principal engineer in startup environments, with a focus on building scalable SaaS products (7+ years of experience in scalable SaaS development).
•  Bring 5+ years of backend experience, ideally with Python or Go (C# or Java experience is also welcome).
•  Have a proven track record of making strong architectural decisions and improving system design, with a strong focus on secure coding standards to meet enterprise requirements.
•  Possess deep knowledge of cloud-native systems, including cloud platforms, databases, performance optimization, scalability, and security.
•  Stay curious about emerging technologies and enjoy evaluating new frameworks and tools to determine the best fit for different use cases.
•  Have prior experience building or supporting enterprise software solutions.
•  Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

Current Tech Stack 

Backend

•  Elasticsearch and Redis as primary data stores
•  Actively transitioning to SQL as the main database
•  Python-based API services running on Kubernetes
•  Daily batch processing via Airflow
•  Machine learning with neural network models, including experimentation, training, and deployment 

Frontend

•  Vue.js 3 and Nuxt 3
•  Migrating component libraries from ElementPlus/iView to Vuetify
•  Containerized deployments using Docker and Kubernetes
•  CI/CD pipelines powered by GitHub Actions 

While we have an established tech stack, we welcome strong engineers who are eager to learn and grow. If you don’t have experience with every tool listed but are motivated to expand your skill set, we encourage you to apply. 

Benefits 

• Competitive compensation and company stock options, so you’re rewarded fairly and feel true ownership in the company.
•  Flexible work schedules built around autonomy, responsibility, and asynchronous collaboration.
•  Twice-yearly, company-sponsored offsites for team bonding, ideation, and collaboration.