Staff Backend Engineer

Staff Backend Engineer

Location: Somerville, MA

Full-time

Hybrid

Join Modulate as we pioneer the future of conversational intelligence.

Modulate is the leader in conversational voice intelligence. We enable platforms and enterprises to deeply understand how people communicate and take timely action based on those insights.

Our products help detect harm, prevent fraud, and build safer, more trusted online and real-world voice environments. We are building a self-serve Conversation Intelligence Platform — APIs, workflows, and applications that bring voice understanding to customers at enterprise scale.

We are building a self-serve Conversation Intelligence Platform — APIs, workflows, and applications that bring voice understanding to customers at enterprise scale.

We’re looking for a Staff Backend Engineer to help build and scale our Developer and Enterprise APIs.

Your Impact

You will play a critical role in bringing our world-class ML audio models to market through robust, scalable APIs. Your work will directly impact both our product velocity and our ability to serve enterprise and developer customers.

• Develop and Iterate on early-stage products that are key to Modulate’s success
• Expand the capabilities and use cases supported by our APIs
• Improve scalability, reliability, and performance across core systems
• Establish strong architectural foundations for long-term growth
• Accelerate Modulate’s ability to serve both B2B and B2C customers

What You Will Do

• Collaborate with engineers and product leaders to scope, design, and execute API projects
• Design, build, test, and deploy API features and improvements
• Maintain and operate production APIs to ensure reliability and performance
• Debug issues and continuously improve system stability and scalability
• Contribute to team knowledge through mentorship, demos, and technical discussions

What We Are Looking For

• Strong experience with object-oriented Python
• Experience designing and building APIs in production environments
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within engineering teams
• Experience building greenfield systems and scaling existing products

Benefits

At Modulate, we prioritize people and sustainability—because doing great work requires feeling supported and safe. Some of our key benefits include:

• Competitive salary + equity- Full health, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible PTO, with a strong culture of taking it
• Weekly team lunches with dietary accommodations
• Hybrid work: core in-office days with flexible remote options
• Regular leadership and industry learning sessions
• Support for career development and continued learning
• Up to 8 weeks work-from-anywhere policy
• A deeply inclusive, human-centered culture

Pay Transparency

Modulate believes in transparency as a cornerstone of equity and trust. Compensation for this role is based on seniority, skills, and experience.

Salary: $180,000 to 200,000 
Equity: Offered
Other perks: HSA, FSA, 15 holidays, professional growth resources

About Modulate

Modulate is on a mission to make voice a force for good online. Our tools help communities thrive by proactively detecting toxic behavior, protecting user identity, and empowering safety teams. We’re trusted by leaders in gaming and beyond—and we’re growing fast.

We believe that great cultures don’t just happen. That’s why we’ve built a foundation of intentional systems: from bias-reducing hiring practices to transparent pay to tools that help teams collaborate across communication styles. At Modulate, we treat people like people—and we’re building technology that does the same.

Ready to join us? Apply here or reach out directly—we’re excited to meet you.

$140,000 - $170,000 a year

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.