Feeny
Tolan

Backend Product Engineer at Tolan (San Francisco, CA)

Tolan· San Francisco, CA· $200k–$300k·

Role details

Salary
$200k–$300k
Work type
Onsite
Employment
Full-Time
Equity
Yes
Skills
Node.jsTypeScriptPythonPostgreSQLRedisLLM EngineeringDistributed Systems
Benefits

Equity · Benefits

Summary

Build and maintain distributed backend systems and LLM engineering components for the Tolan AI companion. The role involves working with Node.js, Python, PostgreSQL, and Redis to deliver high-scale, low-latency AI capabilities.

Job description

Tolan is building personal AI that helps people think, reflect, and take action in their real lives. We're an experienced team that previously founded Even, acquired for $300M in 2022. Tolan is backed by the designers and founders behind Instagram, Retro, Behance, Vimeo, and Notion.

The Role

We're hiring a Backend Product Engineer to build and maintain the systems that make Tolan possible: a mix of backend distributed systems and LLM engineering. Our stack is built primarily with Node.js (TypeScript), Python, PostgreSQL, and Redis.

What You'll Do

  • Build and maintain the distributed backend systems that power Tolan's core product experience.
  • Contribute to LLM engineering work that brings Tolan's AI capabilities to life.
  • Work cross-functionally with our frontend, design, and applied AI teams.

Who We're Looking For

  • Relevant experience. You have at least 4 years of backend engineering experience and can hit the ground running.
  • TypeScript or Python expert. You use deep language expertise to rapidly prototype and iterate on user-facing features.
  • Systems thinker. You apply systems thinking to ensure great user experience..
  • Scale-tested. You've built low-latency systems that real users depend on at scale.
  • Small team operator. You do your best work with high ownership and minimal layers.
  • AI-native. You've deeply integrated AI into how you work and build.
  • Bias to ship. You love to ship quickly and make contact with reality as often as possible.

Compensation: $200,000-300,000 base salary + equity + benefits

Why work at Tolan

  • Culture: Described as “the calmest culture I’ve ever seen” – direct, low-ego, drama-free, with a focus on doing great work quickly (nextplayso.substack.com)
  • Work environment: In-person in San Francisco; small, veteran team (~38 people) where every hire makes a significant impact (tolans.com; linkedin.com)
  • Engineering philosophy: AI tools are fully embraced – candidates are evaluated on how they use AI to build, and daily work is heavily AI-augmented. Engineers are expected to own the output, not just the code (tolans.com/relay)
  • Perks/Notes: Not explicitly listed; the focus is on meaningful work, long hours when needed but a marathon mindset, and a fun, intelligent team (nextplayso.substack.com)

Application questions