DevOps / Backend Engineer (Junior to Mid-Level) – Egofold

Snail Games USA • Culver City, CA

10d • Hybrid

About The Position

Snail Games USA is seeking a hands-on Backend / DevOps Engineer to support the Egofold AI initiative. Egofold develops Non-Human Players (NHPs), intelligent AI agents designed to perceive, learn, make decisions, and interact with video games. The engineer will design, develop, and maintain backend services, APIs, and supporting infrastructure for AI-enabled applications, intelligent agents, and simulation environments.

This is an individual contributor role on a small, fast-moving engineering team. The primary focus is backend development, with additional work supporting cloud infrastructure, deployment automation, and DevOps workflows. The engineer will own assigned work from requirements and solution design through implementation, testing, deployment, troubleshooting, and ongoing maintenance, collaborating with AI engineers and researchers as technologies and requirements evolve.

The position is full-time and hybrid in the Los Angeles area, with 1–2 onsite days per week. The listed annual salary range is $110,000–$145,000. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not offered. Employees may encounter mature content related to the company’s video game development, publishing, and short-form video work in a professional and creative context.

Requirements

• Professional backend software engineering experience, including the ability to independently develop and maintain production-quality applications.
• Strong proficiency in Python, Go, or a comparable backend programming language.
• Hands-on experience designing, developing, and integrating RESTful APIs or similar backend services.
• Practical experience with relational or NoSQL databases.
• Working knowledge of Linux environments, Git, and cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker.
• Familiarity with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, deployment processes, and infrastructure troubleshooting.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to independently investigate and resolve technical challenges.
• Demonstrated initiative, accountability, and ownership of assigned engineering projects.
• Effective communication skills and willingness to collaborate across engineering disciplines.
• Ability to work effectively in a small, fast-paced engineering environment with evolving technical requirements.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing backend services for artificial intelligence, machine learning applications, or data-intensive systems.
• Familiarity with Kubernetes, Terraform, or comparable infrastructure automation technologies.
• Experience with distributed systems, observability tools, and scalable cloud infrastructure.
• Familiarity with GPU computing environments or AI model deployment infrastructure.
• Experience supporting simulation environments, intelligent agents, or AI-driven applications.
• Background working in startup environments, research-focused engineering teams, or emerging technology initiatives.
• Experience building and maintaining backend systems from early prototypes through production deployment.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and maintain backend services, APIs, and data integrations for AI agents, internal applications, and simulation environments.
• Own assigned systems and features from requirements and architecture through implementation, deployment, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain cloud infrastructure, containerized applications, CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, and system monitoring.
• Identify and resolve technical issues, optimize backend performance, and implement reliable, maintainable solutions.
• Collaborate with AI engineers and researchers to integrate backend services with AI models, intelligent agents, and evolving machine learning workflows.
• Improve development and deployment efficiency through scripting, automation, testing, and infrastructure improvements.
• Work with engineering and research teams to prototype solutions, troubleshoot integration challenges, and deliver functional systems as requirements evolve.
• Maintain documentation for backend services, APIs, infrastructure configurations, and deployment procedures.

Benefits

• Competitive annual salary of $110,000–$145,000.
• Strong focus on work/life balance.
• Paid company holidays.
• Paid vacation and separate sick leave.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Life insurance and long-term disability coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Opportunities to contribute to innovative AI and emerging technology initiatives.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed