diff --git a/backend/app/oauth_google.py b/backend/app/oauth_google.py
index 3137e29..2374840 100644
--- a/backend/app/oauth_google.py
+++ b/backend/app/oauth_google.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import os
 import logging
+import asyncio
 from urllib.parse import urlencode
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Request, Depends
 from authlib.integrations.starlette_client import OAuth
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@
 from .models import User
 from .security import create_access_token
 from .services.subscription_service import subscription_service
+from .services.email_service import email_service, EmailServiceError
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/auth/google", tags=["auth"])
@@ -66,6 +68,9 @@ async def callback(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
                 subscription_service.assign_free_tier(db, user)
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error(f"Failed to assign free tier to user {user.id}: {e}")
+            
+            # Send welcome email asynchronously (non-blocking)
+            asyncio.create_task(_send_welcome_email(user))
         
         jwt_token = create_access_token(str(user.id), {"email": user.email})
         return RedirectResponse(url=f"{FRONTEND_URL}/?{urlencode({'token': jwt_token})}")
@@ -75,3 +80,23 @@ async def callback(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
         return RedirectResponse(url=f"{FRONTEND_URL}/?error=login_failed")
 
 
+async def _send_welcome_email(user: User):
+    """
+    Send welcome email to new user.
+    Runs asynchronously and doesn't block the OAuth flow.
+    
+    Args:
+        user: User object
+    """
+    try:
+        await email_service.send_welcome_email(
+            to_email=user.email,
+            user_name=user.name
+        )
+        logger.info(f"Welcome email sent to {user.email}")
+    except EmailServiceError as e:
+        # Log but don't fail the OAuth flow
+        logger.error(f"Failed to send welcome email to {user.email}: {e}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        # Catch all other errors to prevent breaking OAuth
+        logger.error(f"Unexpected error sending welcome email to {user.email}: {e}", exc_info=True)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/app/services/email_service.py b/backend/app/services/email_service.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8911130
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/services/email_service.py
@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+"""
+Email service abstraction for sending transactional emails.
+Supports multiple email providers (Unosend, Resend, SendGrid, etc.)
+
+Architecture:
+- Strategy Pattern: BaseEmailProvider defines the interface
+- Factory Pattern: EmailService creates the appropriate provider
+- Dependency Injection: Providers can be injected for testing
+
+To add a new email provider:
+1. Create a class that inherits from BaseEmailProvider
+2. Implement the send_email() method
+3. Add the provider to _create_provider() in EmailService
+4. Set EMAIL_PROVIDER environment variable
+
+Example:
+    from app.services.email_service import email_service
+    
+    await email_service.send_welcome_email(
+        to_email="user@example.com",
+        user_name="John Doe"
+    )
+"""
+import os
+import logging
+import asyncio
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from typing import Optional
+from pathlib import Path
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
+import httpx
+from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader, select_autoescape
+from unosend import Unosend
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Thread pool for running sync Unosend client in async context
+_executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=3)
+
+
+class EmailServiceError(Exception):
+    """Base exception for email service errors"""
+    pass
+
+
+class BaseEmailProvider(ABC):
+    """Abstract base class for email providers"""
+    
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def send_email(
+        self,
+        to: str,
+        subject: str,
+        html_content: str,
+        from_email: Optional[str] = None
+    ) -> None:
+        """
+        Send an email
+        
+        Args:
+            to: Recipient email address
+            subject: Email subject
+            html_content: HTML content of the email
+            from_email: Sender email (defaults to configured from_email)
+        
+        Raises:
+            EmailServiceError: If email sending fails
+        """
+        pass
+
+
+class UnosendEmailProvider(BaseEmailProvider):
+    """Unosend email provider implementation using official SDK"""
+    
+    def __init__(self, api_key: str, from_email: str):
+        """
+        Initialize Unosend provider
+        
+        Args:
+            api_key: Unosend API key
+            from_email: Default sender email address
+        """
+        self.api_key = api_key
+        self.from_email = from_email
+        self.client = None
+        
+        if not self.api_key:
+            logger.warning("UNOSEND_API_KEY not set - email sending will be disabled")
+        else:
+            self.client = Unosend(api_key=api_key)
+    
+    async def send_email(
+        self,
+        to: str,
+        subject: str,
+        html_content: str,
+        from_email: Optional[str] = None
+    ) -> None:
+        """Send an email using Unosend SDK (runs sync client in thread pool)"""
+        if not self.api_key or not self.client:
+            error_msg = "Cannot send email: UNOSEND_API_KEY not configured"
+            logger.error(error_msg)
+            raise EmailServiceError(error_msg)
+        
+        from_addr = from_email or self.from_email
+        
+        try:
+            # Run synchronous Unosend client in thread pool to avoid blocking
+            loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+            response = await loop.run_in_executor(
+                _executor,
+                lambda: self.client.emails.send(
+                    from_address=from_addr,
+                    to=to,
+                    subject=subject,
+                    html=html_content
+                )
+            )
+            
+            # Check response status
+            if hasattr(response, 'status_code') and response.status_code >= 400:
+                error_msg = f"Unosend API error (status {response.status_code})"
+                if hasattr(response, 'data'):
+                    error_msg += f": {response.data}"
+                logger.error(error_msg)
+                raise EmailServiceError(error_msg)
+            
+            logger.info(f"Email sent successfully to {to}")
+            return
+                    
+        except Exception as e:
+            error_msg = f"Error sending email to {to}: {str(e)}"
+            logger.error(error_msg, exc_info=True)
+            raise EmailServiceError(error_msg)
+
+
+class EmailService:
+    """
+    Email service abstraction layer.
+    Provides a consistent interface regardless of the underlying provider.
+    """
+    
+    def __init__(self, provider: Optional[BaseEmailProvider] = None):
+        """
+        Initialize email service
+        
+        Args:
+            provider: Optional email provider instance (for testing/DI)
+        """
+        if provider:
+            self.provider = provider
+        else:
+            self.provider = self._create_provider()
+        
+        # Initialize Jinja2 template environment
+        template_dir = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "templates" / "emails"
+        template_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        
+        self.jinja_env = Environment(
+            loader=FileSystemLoader(str(template_dir)),
+            autoescape=select_autoescape(['html', 'xml'])
+        )
+    
+    def _create_provider(self) -> BaseEmailProvider:
+        """
+        Create email provider based on EMAIL_PROVIDER configuration.
+        Defaults to 'unosend' if not specified.
+        """
+        provider_name = os.getenv('EMAIL_PROVIDER', 'unosend').lower()
+        
+        if provider_name == 'unosend':
+            return UnosendEmailProvider(
+                api_key=os.getenv('UNOSEND_API_KEY', ''),
+                from_email=os.getenv('EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS', 'noreply@autodash.com')
+            )
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Unknown email provider: {provider_name}. "
+                f"Supported providers: unosend"
+            )
+    
+    async def send_welcome_email(
+        self,
+        to_email: str,
+        user_name: Optional[str] = None
+    ) -> None:
+        """
+        Send a welcome email to a new user.
+        
+        Args:
+            to_email: Recipient email address
+            user_name: User's name (optional)
+        
+        Raises:
+            EmailServiceError: If email sending fails
+        """
+        try:
+            template = self.jinja_env.get_template("welcome.html")
+            html_content = template.render(user_name=user_name or "there")
+            
+            await self.provider.send_email(
+                to=to_email,
+                subject="Welcome to AutoDash!",
+                html_content=html_content
+            )
+            
+            logger.info(f"Welcome email sent to {to_email}")
+            
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Failed to send welcome email to {to_email}: {e}")
+            raise EmailServiceError(f"Failed to send welcome email: {e}")
+    
+# Singleton instance
+email_service = EmailService()
diff --git a/backend/app/templates/emails/welcome.html b/backend/app/templates/emails/welcome.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0575b57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/templates/emails/welcome.html
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+</head>
+<body>
+<p>Hi {{ user_name or 'there' }},</p>
+
+<p>My name is Arslan and I am the Dev Lead at AutoDash. Thank you for signing up. I wanted to reach out to introduce myself and solicit any feedback good or bad.</p>
+
+<p>We're committed to building the best dashboard creation experience, and rely on users like you to let us know how things are going.</p>
+
+<p>Thanks for choosing AutoDash, and looking forward to helping!</p>
+
+<p>Best,<br>
+Arslan</p>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/backend/requirements.txt b/backend/requirements.txt
index 89046cf..2ddf0a8 100644
--- a/backend/requirements.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -26,5 +26,8 @@ tabulate==0.9.0
 plotly==6.3.1
 kaleido==0.2.1
 reportlab==4.0.7
+Jinja2==3.1.6
+unosend==1.0.0
+