Software Engineer, Backend

Base is America’s next-generation power company. We’re rebuilding the foundation of modern civilization–electricity–by deploying a vast network of distributed batteries that is transforming today’s fragile, centralized grid into a resilient and abundant system. We are engineers, operators, and creatives solving some of the most complex, interdisciplinary challenges of our time.

We're building BaseOS — the operating system that runs the modern power company. It coordinates thousands of distributed batteries, powers our internal operations, and enables us to deliver reliable, low-cost electricity at scale.

As a software engineer on this team, you'll build and operate real services that BaseOS depends on — services that control real hardware in real homes. You'll work across the stack, from backend systems and APIs to the infrastructure they run on, and you'll grow quickly because the problems here don't fit into a tidy box. This is a role for engineers who want to learn by shipping, take ownership early, and work on systems that touch the physical world.

• →

  Build and ship: Write, test, and deploy backend services in Golang and Python that power core parts of BaseOS

• →

  Own your slice: Take responsibility for the features and services you build, from design through production

• →

  Learn the full stack: Work across application logic, APIs, and infrastructure — you won't stay in one lane

• →

  Build for the real world: Contribute to workflow systems (e.g., Temporal) that manage deployments, device control, and operations at scale

• →

  Work with infrastructure: Use Terraform and AWS to deploy and operate the services you build

• →

  Partner across teams: Work with hardware, deployments, and operations to understand the constraints your software has to work within

• →

  Move at Base pace: Ship, learn from what breaks, and improve — quickly and with good judgment

• 1–5 years of professional software development experience, with real, hands-on work shipping production code

• Proficiency in a backend language (Go, Python, Java, or similar) and the ability to write clear, well-tested code

• A working understanding of distributed systems — what can go wrong in production, and why

• Some exposure to cloud infrastructure (AWS or GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Curiosity about infrastructure as code (Terraform or similar) — prior experience is a plus, not a requirement

• A bias toward action: you'd rather ship something and iterate than wait for a perfect plan

• Strong communication and a genuine interest in the "why" behind the systems you're building

• Bonus: exposure to IoT systems, real-time control systems, workflow orchestration, or DevOps practices

America's power grid is failing — electricity costs have risen even as generation gets cheaper, and blackouts are becoming more common. We're building the software that fixes it. Our team owns the entire stack: firmware that controls batteries in thousands of homes, trading algorithms that buy and sell power in real-time markets, distributed commanding systems that orchestrate a growing fleet as a single grid asset, factory software for our Austin manufacturing line, and the product experience that makes it all invisible to homeowners. If you want to write code that physically moves electrons, ships hardware, and reshapes critical infrastructure, this is the job.

Please note: Base is a startup, which means priorities shift and evolve quickly. Your role may expand or change based on the needs of the business at any given time, so the responsibilities listed may not be exhaustive.

• First Principles Thinking: Question assumptions. Principles > rules.

• Operate at Base Pace: Focus on what matters, act quickly, and learn by doing.

• Give & Get Feedback: Be direct, be humble, and maintain a growth mindset.

• Everyone’s an Owner: Follow through on commitments and own results.

• Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Drive clarity and make calls with imperfect information.

• Committed to the Mission: Rebuilding the grid is a big challenge. We work hard because we care deeply about the impact we’re creating. We work in-person. It’s not a 9-to-5. We are all-in.

• Fun & Optimism Coexist with Grit: Collaboration and celebration coincide with the intensity of building real things.