Backend Sde- 1

Access & Empowerment for Bharat through AI and Local Language Internet

Lokal is India’s largest regional content and services platform, built for the 500 million+ internet users from tier 2+ towns.

Founded by IIT alumni, Lokal started in 2018 to address the lack of relevant local content and now goes beyond content to solve real, everyday problems of Bharat. Growing as a house of apps, Lokal is evolving into an AI-driven discovery and access platform—connecting users in tier 2+ India with the experts, tools, and knowledge they’ve historically lacked access to:

- Lokal Matrimony - Location-based matchmaking apps focused on hyperlocal compatibility
- Lokal Jobs - Hyperlocal job discovery platform connecting blue
- and grey-collar workers with nearby opportunities
- GyanTV - Skill-based learning in regional languages (stocks, photography, small business & more)
- Dostt - Make new friends through voice chats, games, and real, authentic conversations
- Eaze - A safe space to explore emotional well-being via community-driven support
- AstroLokal - Instant access to trusted astrologers through audio and chat
- And more - 10+ new apps in testing & exploration across agricultural advisory, legal advisory, financial guidance, and AI-powered personal assistants

Why Join Us?

We’re scaling fast with strong fundamentals, on a mission to empower millions through AI and access. At Lokal, you’ll take ownership from day one, build for real impact, and help redefine the roadmap of how Bharat connects to opportunities, knowledge, and experts.

About the Role:
We are looking for smart, driven and enthusiastic backend developers for SDE 1 position, who thrive in a fast-paced startup environment. As a key part of our engineering team, you’ll work on building and scaling systems that impact millions of users daily. This role is ideal for individuals passionate about solving complex problems, writing high-quality code, and taking ownership of their work.

**What You'll Do**:

- Implement new features, build proof-of-concepts (POCs), and improve existing systems.
- Contribute to system design and participate in code reviews to maintain top-notch quality.
- Build scalable solutions from scratch while balancing long-term maintainability with business needs.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers, designers, and product managers, to deliver high-impact solutions.
- Learn and work with systems running at scale, ensuring reliability and performance.
- Examples of Product-Specific Responsibilities you can expect to work on
- Develop and implement effective algorithms for content matching in user feeds, personalized recommendations, and executing campaigns using cohort calculations, ensuring adaptability to diverse behaviors.
- Design, develop and maintain WebSocket-based systems to enable low-latency, real-time video and audio communication with high reliability.
- Strong expertise in SQL database modeling and crafting highly efficient queries optimized for scalability and performance in large-scale systems.

**Who You Are**:

- Strong Problem Solver: Proficient in data structures and algorithms, with a structured approach to breaking down problems into manageable tasks.
- Self-Starter: Can take ownership of tasks and drive them with mínimal supervision.
- Team Player: Comfortable collaborating in a small, autonomous team to deliver end-to-end solutions.
- Technical Skills:
- Experience (0-2 years) with backend development, preferably in Python, Java, or JavaScript.
- Understanding of database design and management (SQL/NoSQL databases).
- Familiarity with distributed backend systems, API development, and optimization.
- Exposure to CI/CD, load balancing, and containerization is a plus.
- Expectation: It doesn't matter what language or stack you are comfortable with, but you should have explored it in depth. You should know the benefits, limitations, alternatives, and scope for improvement in your code.
- Eager Learner: Enthusiastic about working on systems at scale and continuously improving skills.

**Bonus Points For**:

- Experience working in fast-paced startups or on large-scale projects.
- Exposure to consumer tech, media products, or strategic decision-making roles.
- Hands-on experience in managing large-scale systems or projects.
- Experience with WebSockets and video streaming use cases will be a significant plus.

**Why Join Lokal?**:

- Be a part of shaping the company’s future, contributing to both technical and strategic decisions.
- Work in a dynamic environment with 100s of service containers running to serve customers.
- Collaborate with a passionate team to build meaningful products for millions of users.

Join us on our journey to redefine hyperlocal connectivity and make a meaningful impact across India