Mid-Level Full Stack Developer

Synergy ECP•Suitland, MD

22h•$170,000 - $190,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are standing up a small, elite development team to deliver cloud-native applications that directly support client operations. This is a focused, high-impact team where every engineerâ€™s contribution is visible and consequential. We are looking for a Full Stack Developer who combines deep Python expertise with genuine frontend craftsmanship, thrive in classified environments, and bring the kind of disciplined engineering mindset that produces secure, maintainable systems under real operational pressure. Location: Hybrid, 2â€“3 days per week on-site in Suitland, Maryland Start: Immediate Team: 2â€“3 developers reporting to the technical lead Stack: Python/Django, React/Next.js, PostgreSQL/Aurora, AWS (multi-partition), Terraform, GitLab CI/CD, Keycloak

Requirements

Strong Python development, deeply comfortable with Django or equivalent frameworks, API design patterns including Backend-for-Frontend architectures, Pydantic-driven validation, and async Python in production.
Ability to build polished, responsive interfaces in React or Next.js.
Solid relational database skills centered on PostgreSQL, including schema design, performance tuning, and data migration.
Familiarity with Keycloak, OIDC, SAML, JWT-based sessions, and certificate-based authentication (CAC/PIV).
Understand how to implement role-based access control and secure token handling in applications where trust boundaries are non-negotiable.
Practical AWS experience deploying, operating, and troubleshooting applications across classified partitions. Core services like EKS, Aurora, S3, IAM, VPC, and KMS should be familiar territory.
Comfortable reading, writing, and maintaining Terraform modules.
Understand secure development practices, secrets management, least-privilege patterns, and the fundamentals of building applications that operate in STIG-hardened, FIPS-validated environments.
Work with DevSecOps scanning outputs across static analysis, dependency scanning, container scanning, and SBOM verification.
AI-assisted development is a required competency.
Take ownership of code, commitments, and mistakes.
Communicate clearly, ask questions early, and push back when something does not make sense.
Meticulous attention to detail.
Self-directed work ethic, do not wait to be told what to do next, and take pride in shipping clean, well-tested, well-documented work.
Active TS/SCI clearance
Python backend development (Django, FastAPI, or equivalent; async/ASGI; modern Python 3.13+)
Frontend development with React, Next.js, or equivalent (production UIs, not prototypes)
RESTful API design including BFF patterns and schema validation
PostgreSQL — schema design, query optimization, migrations, data loading
AWS — deploying and operating applications across classified partitions and regions
Terraform for infrastructure-as-code
Keycloak, OIDC, SAML, or CAC/PIV authentication integration
Secure application development for STIG-hardened, FIPS-validated environments
GitLab CI/CD pipelines and Git-based workflows
DevSecOps scan interpretation and remediation (SAST, DAST, SCA, SBOM, container scanning)
AI-assisted development tooling in daily practice
5+ years hands-on development (or equivalent demonstrated capability)
B.S. degree in a STEM field
U.S. Citizenship

Nice To Haves

Experience with Aurora is a plus.
Intellectual curiosity about the problem space and the adaptability to work across unfamiliar domains without needing everything spelled out.
Incorporating generative AI capabilities into applications (RAG pipelines, LLM integration, or embedding-based search)
Migrating legacy systems and data sources into modern cloud-native architectures
Container orchestration with Kubernetes/EKS and Helm
Hardened container supply chains and FIPS-validated image pipelines
NIST 800-53 security controls and their practical application to software design
Multi-classification or cross-partition deployment architectures
Familiarity with intelligence community environments and DoD mission systems

Responsibilities

Design and deliver complete applications; from database schema to API layer to the interface a mission user opens every morning.
Support an established platform application while simultaneously standing up pilot solutions and custom MVPs for emerging requirements.
Extending a Django-based API gateway.
Building a new React dashboard for an operational workflow.
Writing migration scripts to bring legacy data into a modern PostgreSQL schema.
Wiring up Keycloak authentication for a new service.
Move fluidly between backend logic and frontend polish.
Deploy across multiple AWS partitions and classification levels.
Work with Terraform for infrastructure.
Work with GitLab for source control and CI/CD.
Utilize AI-assisted development tooling as a standard part of your workflow.