Backend / Future AI Lead Engineer - Torch Systems (Bay Area)
About Torch
Torch is building the most accurate outdoor wildfire detection system in the world - a network of advanced IoT sensors and AI models that save lives, protect communities, and prevent billions in damage. We’re a small but high-performing team, backed by top-tier investors, with real deployments protecting critical infrastructure across California.
We’re looking for a Bay Area-based Backend Engineer who can immediately take ownership of our backend stack — and, over time, grow into our Lead AI Engineer as we scale our data pipeline, ML models, and real-time alerting systems. This is an opportunity to be at the intersection of climate tech, AI, and mission-critical hardware.
What You’ll Do
- Own and maintain our backend systems from day one.
- Develop APIs and services in Node.js (Fastify or similar frameworks).
- Manage deployments using Docker and Linux.
- Design and maintain scalable REST APIs with proper documentation in Swagger.
- Collaborate with our hardware and frontend teams to ensure seamless data flow.
- Work with massive real-world sensor datasets to prepare for AI/ML pipelines.
- Stay ahead of AI trends and help transition Torch into a data + AI powerhouse.
Tech Stack & Requirements
JavaScript / Node.js — 3+ years professional experience (5+ years if aiming for Lead).
- Strong experience with Docker, Linux server management.
- Fastify or other Node.js framework expertise.
- REST API design and implementation.
- Swagger (OpenAPI) documentation experience.
- Bonus: Familiarity with AI/ML tools (PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, etc.).
- Located in the San Francisco Bay Area (on-site collaboration preferred).
You Are
- A builder who thrives in early-stage environments.
- Comfortable switching between backend work and AI/ML experimentation.
- Energized by ownership — you see problems, you solve them.
- Excited by the mission of protecting people and infrastructure from wildfires.
Why Torch
- Mission with real-world impact.
- Significant ownership of your work.
- Small, elite team backed by top-tier VCs.
- Path to becoming Lead AI Engineer as we scale our data and AI stack.