At Zapier, we build and use automation every day to make work more efficient, creative, and human. So if you’re using AI tools while applying here - that’s great! We just ask that you use them responsibly and transparently.
Check out our guidance on How to Collaborate with AI During Zapier’s Hiring Process, including how to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others during our hiring process - and when not to.
Job Posted: 11/4/2025
Location: Americas
Hi there!
Zapier is leading the way in AI automation. We’ve helped businesses increase productivity and serve their customers better through an extensive platform of integrations, robust workflow automations, and practical AI applications. Zapier’s AI Orchestration Zone is building the infrastructure that will power the next generation of automation. At the core of this effort is Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an open standard designed to let AI agents seamlessly reason, act, and orchestrate workflows across Zapier’s 8,000+ integrations.
We’re hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to help design and scale the systems that enable this vision. You’ll own APIs, build platform primitives, and work closely with cross-functional partners to define how agents access the real world through Zapier.
If you’re excited about working on foundational systems, love thinking in protocols and architecture, and want to help define how AI agents get work done — this is your role.
Design, implement, and evolve core APIs that enable agents to take meaningful actions across Zapier’s ecosystem
Build systems that support scalable orchestration, robust logging, and high-availability execution
Collaborate on the architecture for MPC primitives like memory, context windows, and reasoning steps
Integrate with Zapier’s existing execution infrastructure and help build the interfaces between LLMs and automations
Partner closely with Product, Platform, and Sales teams to ensure the protocol serves both external and internal needs
Drive design decisions that prioritize scalability, performance, security, and clarity for developers and AI systems alike
MCP is one of the most strategically important initiatives at Zapier. It’s foundational to our AI orchestration roadmap and plays a central role in how we show up in the broader AI ecosystem.
This is an opportunity to:
Define how AI agents interact with third-party systems through Zapier
Shape a new protocol that impacts both internal platform teams and external developers
Work on high-trust, cross-functional projects with visibility at the executive level
Influence long-term architecture for Zapier’s most ambitious product experiences
Be part of a fast-moving, experimental team that values curiosity, clarity, and velocity
We’re looking for backend engineers who bring:
You’re a seasoned backend builder. You have 6+ years of experience designing, developing and maintaining complex production systems. You’re comfortable writing backend services (Python or Node.js ideal), and you’re not afraid to go deep into API design, database modeling, or CI/CD pipelines.
You understand and leverage AI tooling. You know how to use AI tools to accelerate your own development process (e.g. GitHub Copilot, Cursor), and you also get excited about building systems that enable others to use AI effectively. You’ve worked with or implemented components like model context protocol or agent frameworks.
You thrive on platform thinking. You’ve built or contributed to platform products before, with a focus on extensibility, documentation, and robust foundations. You can make the complex simple for our customers.
You lead with customer empathy and curiosity. You continuously seek context, ask great questions, and stay oriented to the bigger picture to meet the needs of customers to help them solve problems that matter to them.
You bias toward action, especially when next steps aren’t obvious. You create structure, clarity, and momentum for the team surrounding your projects. You’re pragmatic and know when to ship fast and iterate - and when to sweat the details.
You demonstrate an ownership mindset. You take initiative without needing top-down direction, but you’re also an effective communicator who can bring others with you. You have sound judgment, and balance user needs, technical constraints, and product goals in your decisions.
You’re a self-starter who is comfortable with ambiguity. You can turn loosely defined problems into concrete action, you follow through on commitments, and you surface blockers early to recruit help defining solutions.
At Zapier, we believe that diverse perspectives and experiences make us better, which is why we have a non-standard application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We're looking for the best fit for each of our roles, regardless of the type of companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don’t exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few in-depth questions in our application that would typically be asked at the start of an interview process. This helps speed things up by letting us get to know you and your skillset a bit better right out of the gate. Please be sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.
Education is not a requirement for our roles; however, if you receive an offer, you will need to include your most recent educational experience as part of our background check process.
After you apply, you are going to hear back from us—even if we don’t see an immediate fit with our team. In fact, throughout the process, we strive to never go more than seven days without letting you know the status of your application. We know we’ll make mistakes from time to time, so if you ever have questions about where you stand or about the process, just ask your recruiter!
Zapier is an equal-opportunity employer and we're excited to work with talented and empathetic people of all identities. Zapier does not discriminate based on someone's identity in any aspect of hiring or employment as required by law and in line with our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Our code of conduct provides a beacon for the kind of company we strive to be, and we celebrate our differences because those differences are what allow us to make a product that serves a global user base. Zapier will consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.
Zapier prioritizes the security of our customers' information and is dedicated to adhering to all applicable data privacy laws. You can review our privacy policy here.
Zapier is committed to inclusion. As part of this commitment, Zapier welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities and will work to provide reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodations are needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [email protected].
The anticipated application window is 30 days from the date job is posted, unless the number of applicants requires it to close sooner or later, or if the position is filled.
Even though we’re an all-remote company, we still need to be thoughtful about where we have Zapiens working. Check out this resource for a list of countries where we currently cannot have Zapiens permanently working.
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Zapier (YC S12) gives people internet superpowers by letting them easily connect and automate the apps they use. Partners, including Salesforce, Intuit, Google, and Dropbox, utilize Zapier to offer their customers integrations with 1,000+ apps. The Zapier Developer Platform enables developers to add APIs for private or public use. Our growing, remote team has members around the world. We are on a mission to make work easier. We face formidable technical hurdles, unique marketing challenges, and exciting brand and design opportunities that come with serving a vast multi-sided audience. We are hiring. We're a 100% distributed team helping people across the world automate the boring and tedious parts of their job. We do that by helping everyone connect the web applications they already use and love. We believe that there are jobs a computer is best at doing and that there are jobs a human is best at doing. We want to empower businesses to create processes and systems that let computers do what they are best at doing and let humans do what they are best at doing.
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