---
title: 'Staff Backend Engineer at Aurelian'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-backend-engineer-aurelian-seattle-37sq36vj3k7z'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Staff Backend Engineer at Aurelian

- **Company:** Aurelian
- **Location:** Seattle, WA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/aurelian/3b91c9e1-657c-4dff-818d-19efd48c26a3

## Job description

## ABOUT AURELIAN

Aurelian builds AI tools that help 911 centers handle more with less, so telecommunicators can stay focused on what matters most and communities get the response they need.

AVA https://www.aurelian.com/ava is a conversational AI agent that answers non-emergency calls; the agent routes, triages, and resolves the calls without any human intervention. By handling administrative calls like noise complaints, lost dogs, and parking inquiries, AVA eliminates hold times and lets call-takers focus their energy on actual emergencies.

CORA https://www.aurelian.com/cora supports call-takers on the calls that matter most. CORA is an on-screen assistant that delivers real-time SOP checklists, smart reminders, and contextual guidance as an emergency call unfolds, so dispatchers stay calm, consistent, and confident when every second counts. When AVA detects an emergency mid-call, it transfers the caller to a telecommunicator and passes along the caller details, location, incident type, and key statements directly into CORA. The call-taker never starts from scratch.

The problem we're solving is serious. The average emergency communications center is 30% understaffed nationwide. Staffing shortages drive burnout and attrition, which makes the shortage worse. Meanwhile, 60-80% of the calls coming in aren't even emergencies at all. Aurelian addresses both sides of that equation: AVA reduces unnecessary call volume, and CORA makes every emergency call more manageable for the people handling it.

Aurelian is live in centers across the country, answering thousands of non-emergency calls every day, and is backed by New Enterprise Associates https://www.nea.com/blog/aurelian-ai-agents-powering-the-911-call-centers-of-the-future and Y Combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/aurelian. Aurelian is growing rapidly; we are hiring people who want to help scale this work and make a real difference in public safety infrastructure for communities across the country.

## WHY JOIN US

Aurelian builds state of the art, multimodal conversational AI systems that help save lives. We work directly with 9-1-1 call centers to modernize emergency response workflows - where reliability, speed, and usability aren’t “nice-to-haves,” they’re mission-critical.

We’re hiring a Staff Backend Engineer to help build out the core systems that make up the Aurelian platform. You will solve complex, technical challenges ranging from optimizing latency in realtime AI pipelines, to building robust analytics solutions, and creating flexible solutions to integrate seamlessly with customer systems.

## WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

Among other things, you will:

- Architect Core Systems: You will help architect core pieces of our voice AI and automation platform for reliability and scalability to help us serve 911 centers across the center in their most critical workflows.
- Drive Engineering Excellence: You will raise technical standards, contribute to code review and maintenance processes, and help define what engineering excellence looks like at Aurelian.
- Solve Hard Problems: You will solve hard technical problems across a wide range of domains - everything from building effective guardrails to optimizing audio pipeline latency to effectively evaluating AI performance.

## WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

- You thrive on autonomy and constantly seek out new challenges.
- You have 6+ years of software engineering experience.
- You have strong engineering fundamentals, you know your strengths but are always excited to learn new skills.

To learn more about what it's like to work at Aurelian, visit our About Us https://www.aurelian.com/about page and follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/aureliansystem to stay up to date!

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification listed above. We believe exceptional people come from many different backgrounds, and we’d rather connect with you than miss the opportunity.

Come do the best work of your life and join us in shaping the future of critical technology that truly matters.

FOR FULL-TIME ROLES, AURELIAN OFFERS A VARIETY OF BENEFITS, INCLUDING:

- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance
- 401(k)
- Unlimited PTO
- Company-wide offsites
- Equipment stipend
- Relocation assistance
- Daily delivered lunches (on us)
- Office in Seattle
- Start-up Equity

## About Aurelian

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Aurelian builds AI tools that help 911 centers automate non-emergency calls and provide real-time guidance to telecommunicators during emergencies.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Backed by Y Combinator and NEA)
- **Headquarters**: Seattle, WA, USA
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Max Keenan (CEO), James Liu (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Government technology (GovTech) / Public safety
- **Target customers**: Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and emergency communications centers across the United States (B2G)
- **Mission**: Make every call better for telecommunicators and the communities they serve.

## Products & Services
- **AVA**: A conversational AI agent that answers non-emergency calls (noise complaints, lost dogs, parking inquiries) autonomously – routes, triages, and resolves calls without human intervention. Integrates with existing CAD and phone systems.
- **CORA**: An on-screen assistant for telecommunicators that delivers real-time SOP checklists, smart reminders, and contextual guidance during emergency calls. Captures caller details, location, and incident type, passing them seamlessly from AVA.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: 53 employees (LinkedIn, as of early 2025) with 528.6% yearly headcount growth; trained on thousands of non-emergency calls daily
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator (Summer 2022 batch), New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
- **Growth Signals**: 13 active job postings; rapid hiring across engineering, sales, and implementation; expanding presence in US 911 centers

## Competitive Advantages
- Purpose-built for emergency communications (not a general-purpose AI platform)
- Reduces non-emergency call volume by 60–80%, directly addressing nationwide 30% understaffing in PSAPs
- Integrates alongside existing CAD/phone systems – no rip-and-replace
- Self-healing call routing continuously improves accuracy
- Real-time SOP guidance reduces cognitive load and improves consistency during emergencies

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling deployments across US 911 centers
- Hiring aggressively in engineering, product, and go-to-market roles
- Building deeper integrations with public safety infrastructure
- Growing the team to meet demand while maintaining mission-driven culture

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Fast-growing startup with a meaningful mission – improving public safety and helping telecommunicators focus on emergencies. Described as a place where “every call matters.”
- **Work Policy**: In-office in Seattle, WA (headquarters) – collaborative environment for a tightly-knit team.
- **Perks**: Competitive compensation – posted salaries for senior roles range from $150K–$240K (Staff Backend Engineer: $180K–$240K); opportunity to work on high-impact AI in a critical industry.
- **Engineering Culture**: Emphasis on building reliable, real-time systems that fit real workflows; ownership over products that save lives.

## Sources
1. [aurelian.com](https://www.aurelian.com/)
2. [aurelian.com/careers](https://www.aurelian.com/careers)
3. [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/aurelian)
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/aurelian)
5. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aureliansystem)

## Other roles at Aurelian

- [Security & Compliance Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/security-compliance-engineer-aurelian-seattle-pw0xwx1zces5) — Seattle, WA
- [Mid-Market Sales - Seattle](https://feeny.ai/job/mid-market-sales-seattle-aurelian-united-states-gez68pm3kak5) — United States
- [Tech Lead / Engineering Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/tech-lead-engineering-manager-aurelian-seattle-abjtkp8ya648) — Seattle, WA
- [Staff Product Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-engineer-aurelian-seattle-1fkq1s3pvv9w) — Seattle, WA
- [Senior Product Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-engineer-aurelian-seattle-z9h7rbwje6q5) — Seattle, WA
- [Senior Backend Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-backend-engineer-aurelian-seattle-4ftmyj1y18pz) — Seattle, WA
- [Staff Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-infrastructure-engineer-aurelian-seattle-fvkea1041kfg) — Seattle, WA
- [Senior Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-infrastructure-engineer-aurelian-seattle-ph8pn0qt6pn9) — Seattle, WA
- [Founding Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-product-manager-aurelian-seattle-vvbxrjh7t3gp) — Seattle, WA
- [Strategy](https://feeny.ai/job/strategy-aurelian-seattle-96kc41pncfev) — Seattle, WA