Backend Engineer
genius· Engineering
About this role
About Genius
Genius is the leading destination for music, lyrics, and the stories behind the songs. At the intersection of music, technology, and culture, Genius connects fans with deeper meaning behind the world’s most influential music. Join an exceptionally talented team of engineers, designers, product leaders, and business builders who are shaping the future of music and media. Genius continues to grow its presence across the U.S., with teams in Los Angeles, New York, and beyond.
Your Role at Genius
Genius is looking for an in-person Backend Engineer to help build the ultimate music companion. Overseeing a community of hundreds of millions of daily active users contributing to millions of pages of lyrics, annotations, and music metadata, your work will power product features and analytics on Genius.com, insights in our public API, and data exchange with our partners—with no shortage of interesting challenges to solve.
Please Note: This role is based in Los Angeles, and candidates will be required to work onsite 3–4 days per week, or as needed, at our Beverly Hills office, located at 131 S. Rodeo Dr., Suite 375, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Candidates must be located in the Los Angeles area.
Genius is looking for an in-person Backend Engineer to help build the ultimate music companion. Overseeing a community of hundreds of millions of daily active users contributing to millions of pages of lyrics, annotations, and music metadata, your work will power product features and analytics on Genius.com, insights in our public API, and data exchange with our partners—with no shortage of interesting challenges to solve.
Please Note: This role is based in Los Angeles, and candidates will be required to work onsite 3–4 days per week, or as needed, at our Beverly Hills office, located at 131 S. Rodeo Dr., Suite 375, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Candidates must be located in the Los Angeles area.
What You’ll Do
- Partner closely with product managers, designers, and engineers to design and develop new features that deliver real impact to millions of users
- Write clean, scalable, and testable code that’s production-ready and built to last
- Mentor and contribute to technical design discussions, architecture planning, and in-depth code reviews across multiple teams
- Take ownership of deployments to Staging and Production environments, ensuring quality and stability, and participate in the on-call rotation as needed
- Drive long-term architectural improvements and help establish internal best practices and documentation standards
- Champion a culture of engineering excellence, performance optimization, and continuous improvement across the stack
- Collaborate with DevOps and Infrastructure teams to ensure reliable system performance, monitoring, and uptime
- Help onboard and mentor junior engineers, providing regular feedback and technical guidance
- Contribute to the evaluation and adoption of new technologies and frameworks that improve team efficiency and product quality
- Translate business and product requirements into robust, scalable technical solutions
What We’re Searching For
- 5+ years of experience building and maintaining production-grade web applications
- Expertise in backend frameworks such as Ruby (preferred), or similar experience in Python, Node.js, or Django
- Solid frontend development skills with React or Rails, and a strong grasp of modern JavaScript practices
- A proven track record of scaling full-stack applications in high-traffic, user-facing environments
- Strong understanding of API design, database architecture, data modeling, and system performance tuning
- Familiarity with agile methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, and comprehensive testing strategies
- Experience with unit testing, integration testing, and monitoring tools such as New Relic, Datadog, or similar
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to clearly explain technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- A proactive, ownership-driven mindset—you don't wait to be told what to do
- Passion for continuous learning, keeping up with emerging technologies, tools, and frameworks
- B.S. in Computer Science or a related field is a plus—but not required with equivalent hands-on experience
The base salary range for this position is $175,000–$190,000 and is determined based on a variety of factors, including experience, education, relevant skills, and industry knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the salary for the Backend Engineer role at genius?
The listed salary for this Backend Engineer position at genius is USD 175K–190K. This is an full-time role.
Where is the Backend Engineer position at genius located?
This Backend Engineer role at genius is based in Los Angeles, California. The position is listed as on-site or hybrid. Check the full job description or apply directly to confirm the work arrangement.
Which team or department does the Backend Engineer at genius belong to?
This Backend Engineer position is part of the Engineering department at genius. See the full job description for more information about the team structure and responsibilities.
How do I apply for the Backend Engineer position at genius?
Click the "Apply Now" button on this page. You will be redirected to genius's official application portal hosted on greenhouse where you can submit your application directly.
When was the Backend Engineer job at genius posted?
This Backend Engineer position at genius was posted on Aug 21, 2026. Apply as soon as possible — early applications are often reviewed first.
Backend Engineer
genius · 💰 USD 175K–190K
You'll be redirected to genius's official application page on Greenhouse.