--- title: 'Senior Backend Software Engineer, Cloud & Infrastructure at Taara' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-backend-software-engineer-cloud-infrastructure-taara-sunnyvale-bxh21vhbvv74' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-05' --- # Senior Backend Software Engineer, Cloud & Infrastructure at Taara - **Company:** Taara - **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA - **Compensation:** $160k–$210k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-02-05 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/taaraconnect/17d75c15-85bd-4f45-bcf9-ea81ea243fe0/application **Skills:** GCP, AWS, Azure, Golang, Typescript, Python, Kubernetes, gRPC, REST, Relational Databases, NoSQL, Prometheus, Pub/Sub, Kafka, IAM, Public Key Cryptography, Terraform, Pulumi, Ansible, Angular > Design and scale distributed backend systems, APIs, and cloud-native infrastructure to manage global optical networks. The role involves building telemetry pipelines, automating infrastructure with Infrastructure as Code, and developing observability tools for network operations. ## Job description ## About the Team Born at X, Google's Moonshot Factory, Taara is on a mission to connect billions of people lacking abundant and affordable internet today by pioneering the way we use light to deliver faster, cheaper, more reliable connectivity. Lead the charge in bringing our groundbreaking wireless optical communication and photonics chip technologies to the world. Drive our growth story as we scale innovative solutions across the world. Join us to light the way for bridging the digital divide and illuminating the future. ## About the Role As a Senior Backend Software Engineer, Cloud & Infrastructure at Taara, you will be the architect of the "brains" behind our global network. While our hardware creates the links, your software manages them. You will design and scale the distributed systems, APIs, and cloud-native infrastructure that monitor, control, and optimize our wireless optical terminals in the field. The ideal candidate is a generalist who thrives on building reliable, scalable backend systems. You are comfortable jumping between writing high-performance Go services, architecting data pipelines for massive telemetry streams, and automating cloud infrastructure. How you will make 10x impact: - Scale the Control Plane: Design and implement the cloud-native backend responsible for managing thousands of global optical terminals. - Architect Telemetry Pipelines: Build robust data ingestion and processing systems to handle real-time performance metrics from the field. - Bridge Edge and Cloud: Collaborate with embedded engineers to define how hardware communicates with the cloud, ensuring secure and efficient data flow. - Automate Everything: Lead the "Infrastructure as Code" (IaC) strategy to ensure our global deployments are reproducible and resilient. - Drive Observability: Develop the tools and dashboards that allow our Network Operations Center (NOC) to troubleshoot complex optical links instantly. What you should have: - Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. - Cloud Proficiency: 4+ years of experience building and deploying scalable services on GCP, AWS, or Azure. - Core Languages: Strong proficiency in Golang, Typescript, and/or Python. - Distributed Systems: Experience with container orchestration (Kubernetes) and distributed systems architecture. - API Design: Proven track record of designing and maintaining clean, scalable APIs (gRPC, REST). - Data Systems: Experience with relational databases, NoSQL, timeseries databases (e.g., Prometheus), and message brokers (e.g., Pub/Sub, Kafka). - Cloud Security: Experience with security best practices, least-privilege model, defining IAM roles/policies, and use of public key cryptography. - Location: Ability to work in the Sunnyvale office at least 3 days per week. It would be great if you also had these: - IaC Experience: Familiarity with Terraform, Pulumi, or Ansible. - Full-Stack Curiosity: Interest in (or experience with) Angular/React/TypeScript for internal monitoring tools. - Networking Knowledge: Understanding of L2/L3 networking, VPNs, and secure tunneling. - Startup Mindset: Experience working in fast-paced environments where you might need to wear multiple hats. - Hardware Interface: Experience or interest in how cloud services interact with physical IOT or networking hardware. The US base salary range for this full-time position is $160,000-$210,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process. ## About Taara ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Taara uses invisible beams of light to deliver high-speed, low-latency wireless internet connectivity, acting as a fiber alternative for hard-to-reach areas. - **Entity Type**: Private (spun out from X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory in March 2025; backed by Series X Capital, with Alphabet retaining a minority stake) - **Headquarters**: Sunnyvale, California, USA - **Founded**: 2025 (spin-out); predecessor Project Taara began in 2017 - **Founders**: Mahesh Krishnaswamy ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Telecommunications technology / Free-space optical communications - **Target customers**: B2B – mobile operators, wireless ISPs, fiber operators, enterprises, smart city operators, government/emergency response, and innovation partners (satellite operators, photonics companies) - **Mission**: “Bringing high-speed, affordable and abundant connectivity to people everywhere using beams of light.” ## Products & Services - **Taara Lightbridge**: Free-space optical terminal delivering up to 20 Gbps over line-of-sight distances up to 20 km with carrier-grade availability. Used for backhaul, fronthaul, and mesh. - **Taara Lightbridge Pro**: Enhanced version offering “five nines” (99.999%) availability for mission-critical networks. - **Taara Beam**: First product built on Taara's Integrated Photonics Platform, designed for expansion with flexibility in a smaller form factor. - **Integrated Photonics Platform**: Silicon photonics chip that uses light to transmit data through the air, enabling miniaturized terminals and reduced mechanical complexity. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding – undisclosed round led by Series X Capital at spin-out (2025); Alphabet retains minority stake - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Series X Capital, Alphabet (via X Development); strategic partners include T‑Mobile, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Econet Group, Digicomm International - **Growth Signals**: Deployments in over 20 countries across Africa, India, North America, and Southeast Asia; recognized as TIME Best Invention of 2024 and Fast Company World Changing Ideas Award; successful live events connectivity (Coachella, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with T‑Mobile) ## Competitive Advantages - **No trenching or spectrum licensing**: Light beams travel through air, avoiding costly fiber deployment and radio spectrum constraints. - **Rapid deployment**: Can be deployed in hours instead of months – ideal for disaster recovery and temporary capacity. - **Silicon photonics platform**: Proprietary chip technology that shrinks hardware and lowers cost, enabling mass scalability. - **Fiber-class performance**: Delivers symmetrical 20 Gbps+ with ultra-low latency, competing directly with fiber in capacity. ## Strategic Focus - **Expand photonics-based connectivity** beyond telecom into data centers, industrial campuses, and satellite communications. - **Scale manufacturing** of its Integrated Photonics Platform to serve global demand. - **Deepen partnerships** with mobile operators, internet service providers, and government entities to close the digital divide. ## Why Work Here - **Innovation pedigree**: Born inside X (Google’s Moonshot Factory) – a culture of tackling world-scale challenges with ambitious technology. - **Mission-driven impact**: Work directly on bringing affordable internet to underserved communities and disaster zones. - **Cutting-edge tech**: Hands-on with advanced photonics, optical engineering, and system-level hardware/software design. - **Growth phase**: Recently spun out as an independent company – opportunity to shape engineering culture and processes from an early stage. - **Hybrid/office**: Based in Sunnyvale, CA; roles range from hardware engineering (optical, mechanical, FPGA) to software (backend, Linux, cloud) and go-to-market (sales, customer success). Per company careers page: open roles include Principal Optical Engineer, Director of Product Management, Senior Backend Software Engineer, etc. - **Perks & culture**: Described as “a new technological era” with a focus on collaboration, rapid iteration, and global impact. ## Sources 1. [taaraconnect.com](https://www.taaraconnect.com/) – Homepage product details 2. [taaraconnect.com/careers](https://www.taaraconnect.com/careers) – Open roles and engineering focus 3. [taaraconnect.com/about](https://www.taaraconnect.com/about) – Leadership, history, milestones 4. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taara_(company)) – Company overview, spin-out, funding, deployments ## Other roles at Taara - [Coherent Optical Systems Internship](https://feeny.ai/job/coherent-optical-systems-internship-taara-sunnyvale-f09xrc2ex19m) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Technical Escalations Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-escalations-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-ed981hzfns48) — Sunnyvale, CA - [VP of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/vp-of-finance-taara-sunnyvale-rtqqr2d48xgj) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Financial Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/financial-operations-manager-taara-sunnyvale-zeppbj18c2g0) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Principal Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-analog-mixed-signal-asic-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-esst4g51npkn) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Director of Optical and Mechanical](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-optical-and-mechanical-taara-sunnyvale-xrh63xxgm2nd) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Growth Marketing Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-marketing-specialist-taara-sunnyvale-st1es2a22n73) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Mechanical Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-design-engineer-taara-sunnyvale-b452mzmcts4a) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Director of Product Management](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-product-management-taara-sunnyvale-c8wndxcamgwn) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Customer Success Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-success-manager-taara-sunnyvale-f3q87dr9k9ad) — Sunnyvale, CA