Backend Engineer

Paperpile

Remote May 5, 2026

Job Summary

Join as a Backend Engineer at Paperpile to work on large-scale data systems, including academic paper databases and user data. Your role involves building pipelines, optimizing search, handling PDFs, and maintaining clean APIs.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and maintain data ingestion pipelines for diverse sources.
Optimize search functionalities and indexing strategies.
Handle PDF processing at scale and ensure data quality.
Build and maintain reliable REST APIs for seamless data access.

Who This Role Suits

Candidates with a strong background in backend engineering.
Professionals experienced in operating data-heavy systems.
Individuals comfortable working with Node.js, TypeScript, and AWS services.

Tips to Apply

Highlight your experience in designing and maintaining data pipelines.
Demonstrate proficiency in full-text search systems and REST API development.
Include familiarity with academic publishing formats, PDF processing, and web scraping in your application.

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Full Job Description

Paperpile runs on data at scale, with a literature database of 250M+ academic papers and a growing body of user data accumulated over more than a decade. You'll work across the systems that ingest, process, store, and serve this data reliably: building pipelines, optimizing search, handling PDFs at scale, and exposing clean APIs.

Requirements

Strong backend engineering background with experience building and operating data-heavy systems in production.
Experience deploying and operating services on AWS.
Experience designing and maintaining data ingestion pipelines handling messy, heterogeneous sources. Comfortable with web scraping and working with third-party data sources and APIs.
Familiarity with Node.js and TypeScript. Itâs fine if you come from a different background, such as Java or Python, but you should be comfortable working in this environment.
High standards for data quality. You think carefully about correctness, deduplication, and consistency.
Solid understanding of full-text search systems including indexing strategy, relevance tuning, and query optimization.
Proficient in building reliable REST APIs.

More useful experience

Familiarity with academic publishing formats and data sources (PubMed, Crossref, arXivâ¦)
Experience with PDF processing pipelines (extraction, transformation, storage and delivery at scale).
Experience with LLM-based document processing or ML pipelines for extracting structured data from unstructured text.
Large scale web crawling and scraping.

Compensation

Base compensation â¬60,000ââ¬90,000 based on the level of your experience
Bonus/equity program.

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Skills

typescript node python java aws backend design ui ai api

Frequently Asked Questions

This Backend Engineer position is suitable for Mid-level professionals. Paperpile is looking for candidates with proven experience in the key skills mentioned, typically 2-5+ years depending on the specific requirements.

Yes, this is a fully remote Backend Engineer position. You can work from anywhere with a reliable internet connection.

Key skills for this Backend Engineer position include: typescript, node, python. Having a strong foundation in these areas will make your application competitive. Experience with related tools and frameworks is also valuable.

To apply, click the 'Apply' button on this page, which will direct you to Paperpile's application portal. Have your resume, portfolio (if applicable), and a compelling cover letter ready.

Salary ranges vary based on experience and location. Check the job posting for specific compensation details, or research similar Backend Engineer positions in your area.

Highlight relevant experience with typescript, node, python. Include specific projects, achievements, and measurable results. Tailor your resume to match the job description, focusing on how your background aligns with Paperpile's needs.

Most hiring processes take 2-4 weeks from application to offer. This may include initial screening, technical assessments, interviews, and background checks. Paperpile will keep you informed throughout each stage.