Backend Engineer

Role Overview: As a Backend Engineer at Plume, you will be responsible for designing and implementing intelligent solutions that optimize mesh Wi-Fi networks in home environments. Your role will involve operating at the intersection of backend systems, applied optimization, large-scale data analytics, and statistical inference. By developing algorithms, models, and insights, you will contribute to improving network performance, efficiency, and reliability for millions of connected devices. Core Responsibilities: - Design, prototype, and productionize optimization models and algorithms for enhancing mesh network topology, channel allocation, and QOE improvements. - Apply operations research (OR) and mathematical modeling to solve complex problems related to resource allocation, scheduling, and network optimization. - Conduct large-scale data summarization, analytics, and statistical inference to extract actionable insights from telemetry and performance data. - Translate research and mathematical formulations into robust, scalable backend services running in the cloud. - Utilize simulation and statistical analysis to validate algorithmic performance and impact. - Collaborate with data scientists, network engineers, and platform teams to operationalize optimization and analytics models in production environments. Qualifications: - Strong programming skills in Python (experience in Scala, Go, or Java is a plus). - Expertise in optimization concepts, including linear, nonlinear, and combinatorial optimization. - Hands-on experience with optimization libraries such as Pyomo, Gurobi, OR-Tools, and CPLEX. - Experience in data analytics, large-scale data summarization, and statistical inference. - Proficiency in frameworks for distributed data processing and analysis, such as Spark, Dask, or Ray. - Background in operations research, applied mathematics, or algorithms. - Solid understanding of distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architectures. - Familiarity with data engineering and real-time streaming frameworks like Kafka, Pulsar, or similar. - Proficiency in SQL and NoSQL databases like PostgreSQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, etc. - Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure, and container orchestration using Kubernetes and Docker. - Strong mathematical foundation and analytical problem-solving skills. - Knowledge of Wi-Fi networking fundamentals is a plus. Nice To Have: - Experience optimizing wireless or mesh networks or other complex distributed systems. - Background in functional programming, with Scala preferred. - Experience in building APIs and backend services around optimization, analytics, or inference logic. - Familiarity with AI-assisted developer tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Cursor, etc. - Contributions to open-source optimization, analytics, or backend projects.,