
Software Engineer (Backend) at Peak Energy (Burlingame, CA)
Peak Energy· Burlingame, CA·
Job description
Software Engineer (Backend)
Location: Burlingame, CA
Department: ESS Engineering
Reports to: Senior Manager, Software Engineering
Position Type: Full-time
About the Company
Peak Energy is the first American venture to advance globally proven sodium-ion battery systems as the storage standard for the new era of renewable energy on a resilient grid.
Sodium-ion is cheap, readily available, and safe — making it the leading contender in a rapidly evolving market.
Our leadership team is powered by decades of expertise in scaling gigawatt-level innovation at world-class companies such as Tesla, Northvolt, Apple, Powin, Enovix, Zipline, Solid Power, SunPower, and Fluence. We are backed by strategic investment and product partners including TDK Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, and GM Ventures.
We recently announced America's first sodium-ion grid storage factory in Sacramento with production starting Q1 2027, and over $1B in signed customer commitments including Jupiter Power and Energy Vault.
About the Role
Peak Energy is looking for a Software Engineer, Backend to help improve and scale the software platform that manages, ingests, processes, and surfaces operational data from our grid-scale battery storage systems.
Our platform transforms raw telemetry from batteries deployed in the field into meaningful data and metrics that customers, operators, and engineers rely on every day. As Peak grows from pilot deployments to gigawatt-scale production, this software becomes increasingly critical to our operations.
This is a hands-on backend software engineering role focused on application development, API design, data processing, and system integration. You'll build and improve the services that connect our battery systems, manufacturing operations, and cloud applications, ensuring data is processed reliably and accessible across the organization.
You'll join a small software team with significant ownership over the systems you build, working closely with ESS Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Product.
What You'll Do
- Design, develop, and maintain backend applications and services that manage, ingest, process, and surface operational data from deployed battery systems.
- Build and maintain APIs and application interfaces that enable communication between battery systems, cloud services, and internal applications.
- Develop data processing pipelines that support critical battery performance metrics, including round-trip efficiency, availability, and cycle tracking.
- Design and optimize database schemas, queries, and data models to support operational applications, reporting, and analytics.
- Develop software integrations connecting manufacturing systems, physical devices, and cloud applications.
- Improve the reliability, scalability, and performance of backend services as Peak's deployment footprint grows.
- Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and systems engineering teams to integrate new functionality and support evolving product requirements.
- Troubleshoot production issues, improve application observability, and continuously enhance software quality.
What You'll Bring (Minimum Qualifications)
- 4+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong focus on backend application development.
- Strong proficiency in Python and experience building production-grade backend applications and services.
- Experience designing, developing, and maintaining REST APIs or other service interfaces.
- Strong SQL skills, including PostgreSQL, database schema design, query optimization, and data modeling.
- Experience developing data processing pipelines or applications that ingest and transform data from multiple sources.
- Familiarity with cloud-based application development on Azure, AWS, or GCP.
- Strong understanding of software architecture, testing, debugging, and version control.
- Experience owning production software, including troubleshooting, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Azure Functions, Azure Service Bus, or similar cloud application services.
- Experience with asynchronous processing, event-driven architectures, or distributed systems.
- Familiarity with real-time data streaming technologies such as Kafka, Azure Event Hubs, or Kinesis.
- Experience with battery systems, energy storage, IoT, industrial telemetry, or hardware-integrated software.
- Experience working with time-series data and high-volume telemetry.
- Familiarity with Docker, CI/CD workflows, and modern software deployment practices.
- Experience partnering with embedded software, firmware, or hardware engineering teams.
- Prior experience in a fast-paced startup environment building new software systems.
Our Core Values
- Speed Through Focus — Move fast but understand why. Focus on the goal, don't sacrifice quality.
- Mission Over Self — Put the company's mission and team success ahead of individual interests.
- Face the Brutal Truth — Transparency, honesty, big-picture curiosity. Fearless decision making.
- Be a Good Person — Kindness, collaboration, and teamwork.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary range for this role is $180,000 - $240,000, with actual pay varying based on work location, experience, and skills. Our competitive benefits package includes:
- Flexible time off
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Strong 401(k) plan
- Equity opportunities
- Many great work perks
Join us to thrive in a supportive environment while making a meaningful impact in the energy sector!
At Peak Energy Technologies Inc., we believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace makes us a more capable, innovative, and competitive company. We welcome people who represent diversity in their backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, and experiences. Peak Energy Technologies Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, aiming to reach our company's full potential by cultivating an inclusive workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.
Why work at Peak Energy
- Culture & values: “Be a good Person” is a core value; emphasis on purpose‑driven work, solving foundational energy problems, and moving fast with real‑world impact.
- Benefits: Comprehensive medical/dental/vision, 401(k) with company match, flexible PTO, generous parental leave, employer‑paid life/disability/income protection, mental health & wellness programs, free lunches, pet‑friendly offices, free EV charging (Burlingame office), cell phone reimbursement, commuter benefits.
- Locations: Offices in Burlingame (CA) and Denver (CO); hybrid/remote policy not explicitly stated but on‑site presence expected for engineering and manufacturing roles.
- Growth trajectory: Headcount has doubled over the past year; company is in rapid scaling phase (from pilot to commercial deployments). Open roles include engineering, manufacturing, finance, and sales (27+ positions listed on Greenhouse and LinkedIn as of mid‑2026).
- Team: Core team assembled from Tesla, Northvolt, Enovix, Lyft, Uber, Solid Power; strong technical depth in battery and energy systems.