About COVU: COVU, a venture-backed technology startup, is transforming independent insurance agencies by digitizing operations and leveraging AI-driven insights. Our mission is to empower individuals to manage risks and insurance more effectively through innovative technology solutions. With deep expertise in AI, our team is building an AI-first company poised to redefine the industry. Role Overview: We’re hiring a Staff Backend Engineer with deep expertise in Twilio APIs and communications infrastructure. You’ll lead the implementation of our telephony and omnichannel messaging platform—from voice call routing and custom softphones to SMS, WhatsApp, and webchat integrations. You’ll work closely with AI engineers, product teams, and designers to create intelligent agent workflows, build streaming pipelines to services like Deepgram and OpenAI, and enable skill-based routing, transcription, analytics, and more. This role is highly technical, hands-on, and outcome-driven. You’ll architect scalable systems, implement event-driven services, and guide best practices for real-time comms infrastructure. What You’ll Do: <ul> <li>Design and implement Twilio-powered voice and messaging services (Voice, Programmable Messaging, Conversations, etc.) </li> <li>Build intelligent call flows, custom routing engines, and agent-assist tools </li> <li>Develop APIs and backend systems that support softphones, AI routing, and real-time context sharing </li> <li>Integrate with third-party AI platforms (e.g., Deepgram, Whisper) via streaming and webhooks </li> <li>Handle communication history, transcript storage, and PII-compliant data handling </li> <li>Support multi-channel engagement (voice, webchat, SMS, WhatsApp) through unified APIs and event bus </li> <li>Ensure observability, uptime, call quality, and scaling to support 100+ concurrent agents </li> <li>Collaborate with frontend, AI, and product teams to co-design end-to-end agent workflows </li> </ul> Who You Are: <ul> <li>8+ years of backend engineering experience, with strong system design fundamentals </li> <li>Deep experience with Twilio APIs, real-time communications, and telephony infrastructure </li> <li>Strong in TypeScript (Node.js) and Python for backend/API development </li> <li>Experience with event-driven architectures, pub/sub (e.g., EventBridge, Kafka), and streaming </li> <li>Familiar with security, compliance, and observability in real-time systems </li> <li>Bonus: Experience building softphones, SIP/WebRTC, or using AI/LLMs for voice/sms workflows </li> </ul> Why Join Us: <ul> <li>Help build the backbone of an AI-powered agent communication platform </li> <li>Collaborate on cutting-edge integrations with AI platforms </li> <li>Own mission-critical systems with real impact on customer and agent experience </li> </ul> Application Process: <ol> <li>Intro call with People team </li> <li>Technical interviews </li> <li>Final interview with leaders</li> </ol>