About GrantSpider

GrantSpider is building the AI Grant Office : a platform that helps universities, research centres and innovative companies manage the full grant lifecycle: from opportunity discovery and partner identification to proposal development, submission and post-award management.

We are evolving from an advanced AI copilot into a grant office autopilot capable of coordinating complex, multi-user workflows across our platform and enterprise systems.

We are an early-stage, fast-growing startup looking for an experienced backend engineer who wants substantial ownership and the opportunity to shape both the product and the technical architecture.

The role

We are looking for a committed Backend Product Engineer who can take ownership of complex product areas from initial requirements to production.

You will not simply receive detailed tickets. You will be expected to understand the user problem, challenge unclear requirements, design a pragmatic solution, implement it, test it and monitor it after release.

You will work closely with the founders, contributing to the core systems that power GrantSpider's workflows, agents and enterprise features.

What you will work on

Designing and developing scalable backend services with Python and FastAPI

Building the infrastructure behind multi-step AI and agent workflows

Developing APIs, data models and asynchronous processing systems

Improving workflow state management, error recovery and observability

Building enterprise features such as permissions, audit logs and secure data access

Integrating GrantSpider with external platforms and customer systems

Improving automated testing, code quality and deployment reliability

Contributing to architectural and product decisions





Reviewing code and helping strengthen engineering standards across the team

Our platform currently uses FastAPI, React, PostgreSQL, pgvector, Neo4j, AWS, Docker, Terraform and GitHub Actions, with LangGraph powering multi-agent orchestration.

What we are looking for

At least 5 years of professional software-development experience

Strong Python and backend-development skills

Experience designing APIs and relational data models

Experience with PostgreSQL and production cloud environments

Ability to independently own a feature from an ambiguous problem to production

Strong attention to maintainability, testing and failure handling

Product mindset: you care whether users can successfully complete their work, not only whether the code runs

Ability to communicate trade-offs clearly and challenge decisions constructively

Comfort working in a startup environment with changing priorities and limited process

Responsible use of AI coding tools: you must accelerate development with them while retaining full understanding and ownership of the code

Italian and English, at least B2

You may be a strong fit if

You prefer owning outcomes rather than completing isolated tickets

You naturally simplify overcomplicated systems

You investigate production issues without waiting for instructions

You ask questions about the user and business context before coding

You can move quickly without creating unnecessary technical debt

Team





You will join a small, hands-on technical team composed of:

a founder-led product and technology function;

a senior developer focused on integrations, authentication and infrastructure;

a backend engineer focused on data pipelines and internal services.

You will be given ownership of major backend product areas and will have a direct influence on how GrantSpider's platform evolves.

Compensation

€50,000-€65,000 gross annual salary , depending on experience, technical capabilities and level of independence

Possibility of a higher offer for an exceptional candidate with strong early-stage startup experience

Equity recognition under GrantSpider's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) , based on seniority, responsibilities and long-term contribution to the company

Flexible hybrid working arrangements

Take meaningful ownership of core product areas from your first weeks

Build a technically ambitious AI product used in complex, real-world workflows

Work directly with the founders and influence product and architectural decisions

Help define the engineering standards of a rapidly growing startup

Receive equity participation through the company ESOP , aligning your contribution with GrantSpider's long-term growth

Grow toward broader technical leadership as the team expands

Startup mentality is essential. We are looking for someone who takes full ownership of their work and understands that, at an early-stage company, important releases, incidents and customer deadlines may occasionally require flexibility beyond standard working hours. We value intensity when it matters, but we also aim to build a sustainable working environment rather than relying on permanent overtime.

📌 Backend Product Engineer (Torino)
🏢 Altro
📍 Torino