--- title: 'Senior Software Engineer, Backend at Base Power Company' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-backend-base-power-company-austin-jrxg19j99bt6' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-15' --- # Senior Software Engineer, Backend at Base Power Company - **Company:** [Base Power Company](https://feeny.ai/companies/base-power-company) - **Location:** Austin, TX - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-09 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-15 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/base-power/d5149c86-5649-48bd-8d30-7708c3e36233 ## Job description ## About Base Base is America’s next-generation power company. We’re rebuilding the foundation of modern civilization–electricity–by deploying a vast network of distributed batteries that is transforming today’s fragile, centralized grid into a resilient and abundant system. We are engineers, operators, and creatives solving some of the most complex, interdisciplinary challenges of our time. ## About the Role We're building BaseOS — the operating system that runs the modern power company. It coordinates thousands of distributed batteries, powers our internal operations, and enables us to deliver reliable, low-cost electricity at scale. As a senior, staff, or principal engineer on this team, you won't just build services — you'll define how the system works. You'll make architectural calls that other engineers build on top of, set the technical bar for the team, and take end-to-end ownership of the systems Base depends on every day. You'll be trusted to operate with minimal oversight on ambiguous, high-stakes problems — and to know which problems are worth solving in the first place. Your decisions will directly shape how power flows across the grid. ## What You'll Do - Own critical systems at scale: Design, build, and operate the core services BaseOS runs on. You're accountable for their reliability, performance, and long-term direction — not just their uptime today - Set architecture and standards: Make foundational decisions on system design, data models, and service boundaries across teams. Raise the bar for how the org builds and ships software - Operate across the stack: Work in Golang and Python across backend systems, APIs, and infrastructure, moving fluidly between application logic and the infrastructure underneath it - Build systems that coordinate the real world: Design workflow systems (e.g., Temporal) that manage deployments, device control, and operational processes across a growing fleet - Treat infrastructure as a product: Use Terraform and AWS to build infrastructure that's reliable and repeatable at scale, not just for one project - Work across domains: Partner directly with hardware, deployments, and operations leadership to solve problems that don't fit neatly into software — and turn real-world constraints into clean system design - Set the pace and the bar: Make decisions with imperfect information, take responsibility for outcomes, and help less-senior engineers do the same - Mentor and multiply: Level up the engineers around you through code review, design feedback, and technical leadership — your impact extends beyond your own output ## What You'll Bring - 6+ years of professional software development experience, with a track record of owning and shipping production systems that other engineers and teams depend on - Deep proficiency in a backend language (Go, Python, Java, or similar), with the judgment to know when "well-tested" is enough and when it isn't - Real experience building and operating distributed systems in production — you've been paged for the failure modes you now design around - Fluency with modern cloud infrastructure (AWS or GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), including owning services that other teams rely on - Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform or similar) and a track record of treating infrastructure as a first-class part of the product - The ability to design systems end-to-end — from API design through implementation, operation, and eventual deprecation — with sound engineering judgment under ambiguity - Product and business intuition: you weigh implementation against user experience, operational impact, and business outcomes, and you can explain the trade-offs to non-engineers - A track record of cross-functional leadership — you've driven alignment across hardware, deployments, and operations on problems with no clean owner - High ownership without needing to be asked twice, and a track record of stepping into ambiguity rather than waiting for it to be resolved for you - Clear, direct communication and strong technical opinions, held loosely enough to change your mind when the evidence says to - Bonus: experience with IoT systems, real-time control systems, workflow orchestration (e.g., Temporal), or DevOps practices at fleet scale ## About the Team America's power grid is failing — electricity costs have risen even as generation gets cheaper, and blackouts are becoming more common. We're building the software that fixes it. Our team owns the entire stack: firmware that controls batteries in thousands of homes, trading algorithms that buy and sell power in real-time markets, distributed commanding systems that orchestrate a growing fleet as a single grid asset, factory software for our Austin manufacturing line, and the product experience that makes it all invisible to homeowners. If you want to write code that physically moves electrons, ships hardware, and reshapes critical infrastructure, this is the job. Please note: Base is a startup, which means priorities shift and evolve quickly. Your role may expand or change based on the needs of the business at any given time, so the responsibilities listed may not be exhaustive. ## Our Values - First Principles Thinking: Question assumptions. Principles > rules. - Operate at Base Pace: Focus on what matters, act quickly, and learn by doing. - Give & Get Feedback: Be direct, be humble, and maintain a growth mindset. - Everyone’s an Owner: Follow through on commitments and own results. - Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Drive clarity and make calls with imperfect information. - Committed to the Mission: Rebuilding the grid is a big challenge. We work hard because we care deeply about the impact we’re creating. We work in-person. It’s not a 9-to-5. We are all-in. - Fun & Optimism Coexist with Grit: Collaboration and celebration coincide with the intensity of building real things. Do the best work of your life at Base. ## About Base Power Company ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Base Power is a technology-driven energy provider deploying a network of distributed home batteries in Texas to provide reliable, affordable backup power and grid-balancing services. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, $1.3B+ raised to date) - **Headquarters**: Austin, Texas, United States - **Founded**: 2023 - **Founders**: Zach Dell (CEO & Co-Founder), Justin Lopas (COO & Co-Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Energy Technology (Energy-as-a-Service, Grid Storage, Distributed Energy) - **Target customers**: B2C (Texas homeowners), B2G (grid operators / ERCOT) - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Build the future of American power." — The company aims to protect American families from outages, strengthen the aging U.S. grid, and move toward energy abundance by deploying a large-scale network of home batteries. ## Products & Services - **Home Battery + Energy Membership**: A vertically integrated service where Base installs a large battery (25–50 kWh) at a customer's home for a low one-time fee ($695–$995). Customers pay a fixed energy rate (8–4¢/kWh) and a small monthly membership ($19–$29/mo). Base earns revenue from the grid (grid-balancing services), not from customer bills, enabling rates legally guaranteed to stay below market average. The system provides whole-home backup, protecting against 97% of outages. - **Grid Services Platform**: Proprietary software that orchestrates the distributed battery network — charging when demand is low and discharging when the grid needs support — generating revenue and grid resilience. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (Private company with $1.3B+ total funding) - **Key Metric (Funding)**: - **Series A** (May 2024): $68M led by Thrive Capital - **Series B** (April 2025): $200M led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and others - **Series C** (November 2025): $1.0B from 26 investors - **Total raised**: ~$1.27B (converted from 1,268,000,000) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Thrive Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (also key talent source: 42 former Tesla employees, 6 from SpaceX, 4 from Anduril Industries) - **Growth Signals**: - **Headcount**: 266 (as of mid-2026), with **+186.4% YoY growth** and a rapid monthly growth rate of +12.6% - Named one of **TIME's 10 most influential energy companies of 2026** - Operating in 5 countries (primarily US, with presence in Canada, Philippines, France, India) - 100+ active job postings with +104% increase YoY - 12,500+ batteries installed; serving thousands of monthly customers - CEO cited in the careers page as saying the company has 400+ team members ("400+" likely includes contractors and field installation/service workforce) ## Competitive Advantages - **Vertically Integrated Model**: Base designs, manufactures, and installs every battery system itself, controlling the full stack from hardware through software to field operations. - **Unique Business Model / No-Customer-Profit**: Base earns revenue from grid balancing, not from customer energy bills. This allows guaranteed-below-market rates and a low-cost battery membership, making it dramatically cheaper than competitors (e.g., Tesla Powerwall equivalents). - **Strong Investor and Talent Backing**: World-class VC backing combined with a heavy talent influx from Tesla, SpaceX, and Anduril (companies known for high-velocity hardware/software execution). - **Massive Capital Advantage**: $1B+ Series C provides a significant moat for scaling hardware production, dealer network, and software. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale distribution in Texas**: Continue deploying home batteries at a rapid pace across Texas, entering new zip codes and neighborhoods. - **Grid partnership expansion**: Deepen relationships with ERCOT to expand the value of grid-balancing services. - **Product development**: Improve battery technology (safety, capacity, cost), increase whole-home backup coverage (currently 97%), and develop new hardware/firmware generations. - **Geographic expansion**: potential to move beyond Texas into other states (currently operating in 5 countries for support functions, but service is Texas-focused). ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as "intense, fast-paced, and deeply mission-driven." The company demands high output, ownership, and a bias toward action. It's explicitly stated as "not for everyone, and that's by design." This is a high-ownership, low-ambiguity environment. - **Work Model**: **On-site at Base HQ in Austin, Texas.** Proximity to the product and team is central to how they move fast. "Do I need to be based in Texas? Yes." - **Hiring Speed**: Fast process — aim for 1st conversation to offer in ~2 weeks. - **Interview Process**: 3-4 hour on-site including technical assessments and behavioral/team conversations. Focus on "how [you] approach problems, communicate tradeoffs, and collaborate." - **Non-traditional backgrounds**: Explicitly welcome: "We care about what you've built and how you think, not the logos on your resume. Some of our best people came from non-traditional paths." - **Engineering Culture**: Heavy focus on hardware + software + field operations. Talent sources heavily from Tesla, Anduril, SpaceX — firms known for hardcore engineering and manufacturing excellence. Roles span hardware engineering, firmware, software, manufacturing, field installation/service, operations, growth, and design. - **Team Composition**: ~29% of employees are in technical roles; ~15% in operations; significant representation of trades workers (11). - **Notable Perks**: Opportunity to work on physical infrastructure deployed at scale; chance to contribute meaningfully to grid modernization and American energy resilience. ## Sources 1. [Base Power Careers Page](https://www.basepowercompany.com/careers) 2. [Base Power About Page](https://www.basepowercompany.com/about) 3. [Base Power Home Page (Product & Pricing)](https://www.basepowercompany.com/) 4. [Base Power LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/basepowercompany) 5. [Base Power Open Roles (Ashby)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/base-power) ## Other roles at Base Power Company - [Business Operations, MBA Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/business-operations-mba-intern-base-power-company-austin-gcwc84jhw521) — Austin, TX - [Finance - Analytics Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-analytics-intern-base-power-company-austin-gwta6kwxree5) — Austin, TX - [Business Operations Intern, Commercial Partnerships](https://feeny.ai/job/business-operations-intern-commercial-partnerships-base-power-company-austin-xgmf966sjn40) — Austin, TX - [Material Planning Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/material-planning-intern-base-power-company-austin-zymh23ce7t70) — Austin, TX - [Finance - Planning Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-planning-intern-base-power-company-austin-evt0yvdx35ce) — Austin, TX - [Fund Accounting Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/fund-accounting-manager-base-power-company-austin-y25j8wj8h069) — Austin, TX - [Payroll & Equity Adminstrator](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-equity-adminstrator-base-power-company-austin-v7b7rgcr92pe) — Austin, TX - [Member Experience Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/member-experience-intern-base-power-company-austin-ff8b6s33xk6r) — Austin, TX - [Quantitative Developer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/quantitative-developer-intern-base-power-company-austin-qtq0s5qtzgt4) — Austin, TX - [Firmware Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/firmware-engineering-intern-base-power-company-austin-bvtc6m19me9g) — Austin, TX