Internship - Search Backend Infra Engineer
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Get Started FreeAbout interviewing at Perplexity
One of the few AI startups with a fully published interview guide (perplexity.ai/hub/careers/interview-guide): online application (response within two weeks) → recruiter phone screen → a technical screen that for engineers is 'usually a standard technical programming interview' → a quickly-scheduled onsite of 4–5 interviews including a hiring-manager deep dive on past work and experience anecdotes → a final interview with a Perplexity founder or leader → decision within a week of the onsite. Coding leans Python and mixes LeetCode medium–hard with practical search-flavored tasks (ranking/filtering, concurrency, data handling); system design is AI-native (RAG pipelines, retrieval at scale, LLM serving cost/latency). Applicants are judged 'solely on merit and potential impact' and must show 'frontier knowledge and excellence in at least one area'; roles are broad by default with team matching happening during the onsite, every role — managers included — is hands-on, and building AI products isn't expected but fluency in using AI tools is required. In-person 4 days/week near an office; remote is case-by-case.
Read the full Perplexity interview process →Description
Perplexity is looking for a Backend/Infrastructure Engineer Intern to support our small, high-impact team building the systems that power our search experience. You will work closely with experienced engineers to help design, build, and operate robust infrastructure and backend services that keep Perplexity fast, reliable, and scalable.
Internship program: 12 - 24 weeks, full-time, in-person in the Belgrade office.
Responsibilities:
Build and maintain infrastructure that supports high-performance search systems, with mentorship from senior engineers.
Design internal tools and automation to improve developer workflows and operational efficiency.
Support the design, deployment, and monitoring of cloud-native systems on AWS.
Contribute to improving CI/CD pipelines, testing infrastructure, and release processes.
Debug and optimize Linux-based services, containers, and backend systems.
Contribute to product codebases, primarily using Rust, Go or C++.
Qualifications:
Working towards a degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Familiarity with at least one programming language such as Go, Rust, or C/C++, through coursework or projects.
Basic understanding or exposure to cloud infrastructure (e.g. AWS) and Linux systems is a plus, not a requirement.
Interest in infrastructure, distributed systems, or backend engineering, with willingness to learn about CI/CD, monitoring, and performance.
A proactive and curious learner who enjoys collaborating in a fast-paced, innovative environment
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