Founding Backend Architect (Python/PostgreSQL)

We're a freight brokerage in NJ building a self-hosted, AI-first platform to replace our legacy CRM/TMS. The AI compute infrastructure and data foundation are already in place. We need the architect who turns it into a production operating system. This is a systems architecture role, not a feature dev role. If your primary strength is writing features or following tickets, this is not the role. You will be responsible for: designing and deploying a PostgreSQL schema for complex freight operations across 30+ entities. Building Python service layers integrating multiple REST APIs. Wiring locally-hosted LLM inference into business workflows. Structuring systems that involve document ingestion, email processing, and asynchronous event-driven pipelines. Defining backend patterns for reliability and maintainability across a multi-million record environment. The entire stack is self-hosted on custom-built server hardware. Database, application layer, AI inference — all of it. No clo