Senior Backend Cloud Engineer

Halcyon

15h • $120,000 - $170,000 • Remote

About The Position

Halcyon is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to join its cloud team and help build its anti-ransomware platform. The role leads development and evolution of the data platform and API services using a modern stack that includes Scala and Rust. The engineer will build scalable, maintainable backend systems for internal and customer-facing functions, primarily working on Rust and Scala services and helping guide a transition to Rust where appropriate. The role also supports Halcyon’s Python-based security analysis platform, including malware analysis engines, automated threat detection, and machine learning workflows. Halcyon is a remote-native, globally distributed team that works remotely and asynchronously.

The position includes a base salary range of $120,000–$170,000 and a 10% bonus target. Eligible employees may also receive equity and discretionary incentives.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of backend engineering experience, including recent experience in a JVM-based codebase.
• A track record of designing and owning distributed systems from start to finish.
• Experience with Rust, or a well-formed view of when it is the right tool, and the ability to help guide a migration.
• Strong understanding of APIs, messaging systems such as Kafka, and modern data stores such as Postgres, DynamoDB, and OpenSearch.
• Experience building services in a cloud-native environment, preferably AWS.
• Working knowledge of containers and Kubernetes.
• Comfort working in a remote-first, asynchronous team environment.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with functional programming patterns and idiomatic Scala.
• Experience with Databricks and ClickHouse, or similar lakehouse and analytical/OLAP data stores.
• Experience with Terraform, Helm, and GitHub Actions.
• Familiarity with observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and CloudWatch.
• Prior work on security products, data pipelines, or high-availability systems.
• Python development experience, particularly with security analysis tools and malware detection frameworks such as YARA, PE analysis, and binary analysis.
• Familiarity with machine learning workflows, AutoML, and MLflow for model deployment and management.
• Experience with binary analysis libraries such as LIEF, ssdeep, and TLSH, and security tooling integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and delivery of features across the data platform and public API services, including ingestion, transformation, and enrichment of security data.
• Drive system design, architecture, and data-flow decisions in partnership with product and platform engineering.
• Build, deploy, and own Scala-based backend services in production, maintaining reliability, security, and performance.
• Help plan and execute the migration of selected APIs from Scala to Rust while ensuring consistency and continuity.
• Set standards for code quality, documentation, and operational excellence.
• Lead design and code reviews, and participate in on-call duties and incident response.
• Support and enhance the Python-based security analysis platform, including malware analysis engines, automated threat detection, and machine learning model workflows.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision healthcare, with premiums paid in full for employees and dependents.
• 401(k) plan with a generous employer contribution.
• Short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Basic life and AD&D insurance plans.
• Medical and dependent care FSA options.
• Flexible PTO policy.
• Parental leave.
• Generous equity offering.
• Potential eligibility for discretionary bonuses or incentives.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed