Staff Backend Engineer — Core Product

Company: Kalepa

About the Company: Kalepa is building AI that performs the professional labor inside commercial insurance — underwriting, claims, pricing, operations, and distribution. A $7T global industry still running out of Microsoft Outlook. Their AI Copilot is already in production with leading insurers and expanding across functions. Backed by IA Ventures and Inspired Capital, with team members from Facebook, Palantir, Google, Amazon, McKinsey, Mastercard, and Uber. Global offsites: Playa Del Carmen, Rome, Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Cartagena.

Job Category: Software Engineering / Backend / AI / InsurTech

Contract Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Location: Remote — USA

Salary: $190,000–$255,000 base + significant equity options package

Application Link: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/kalepa/jobs/5995682004

Posted: May 14, 2026 (marked "New" on Greenhouse, simultaneously listed on RemoteOK May 14)

Job Description: You'll join the Core Backend team the center of Kalepa's platform — owning systems that make data more complete, decisions more transparent, and products more valuable. You'll design services, data models, pipelines, and evaluation loops that form the intelligence layer driving better, faster, and more explainable insurance decisions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and build backend services, data models, and pipelines central to Kalepa's AI platform
• Build evaluation loops that make AI decisions more transparent and explainable
• Work on serverless technologies (Lambda, EC2), asynchronous workflows, and cloud environments
• Design and optimize relational database schemas in PostgreSQL
• Drive projects to completion with minimal oversight in a high-ownership environment
• Communicate proactively with stakeholders, surface blockers, and iterate quickly on novel problems

Skills Required: Python (primary stack), PostgreSQL, AWS (Lambda, EC2, serverless), system design, asynchronous workflows, debugging at scale. Bonus: LLMs/generative AI experience, distributed systems.

Requirements:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience
• Strong Python fundamentals (other OO backgrounds considered)
• Experience with serverless technologies and cloud environments
• Relational database design and performance optimization experience
• Hustle and grit mentality — Kalepa explicitly hires for relentless ownership, not standard 40-hour weeks
• Must be authorized to work in the US or Canada (no visa sponsorship)

Benefits: Competitive salary based on experience, significant equity options, 100% covered PPO medical/vision/dental for individuals and families, 20 days PTO, global team offsites, gym/healthy living stipend, mobile phone bill stipend, continuing education credits, 401(k) with employer contribution (regardless of employee contribution).