Backend Engineer — Intern (4 months, in-office)

ethereal labs is building AI-powered consumer products and next-generation interactive storytelling experiences. The company is an early-stage startup (11-50 employees) based in Bengaluru, focused on creating reliable, production-grade systems for real users.

ethereal labs is hiring a Backend Engineer Intern for a 4-month in-office internship in Bengaluru. You will work directly with the founder and founding engineers on live production systems, owning real pieces of the backend and infrastructure, shipping early, and being trusted with decisions.

• Own real pieces of the backend and infrastructure
• Design and implement REST APIs and authentication
• Work with Postgres schemas and complex SQL queries
• Deploy and manage services on AWS (EC2, S3, etc.)
• Use Docker and Linux for development and deployment
• Ship features to production and make technical decisions
• Collaborate closely with the founder and founding engineers

• Strong TypeScript and Node.js
• Solid Postgres and SQL skills (schema design and query reasoning)
• Experience with a backend framework (NestJS preferred; Express or Fastify fine)
• REST API design and authentication basics
• Docker and comfort on the Linux command line
• Working familiarity with AWS (EC2, S3) and self-deployment
• Git
• Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and ability to reason through unfamiliar problems

• 0-1 year of experience preferred
• Strong technical depth and fast learning ability valued more than resume length
• Location: Bengaluru (in-office)
• Relocation allowed
• Duration: 4 months