Software Engineer (Hybrid) - 30870

HII•Columbia, SC

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

Enlighten is hiring a Backend Developer to help design, build, and scale critical backend systems serving the Department of Defense. The systems manage trillions of records, ingest billions of records daily, and support hundreds of thousands of queries per day. The role spans API and backend-service development, modification of complex open-source systems such as Trino, identity federation, large-scale data ingestion, and deployment automation. The engineer will own technical projects from concept through production and ongoing improvement, work autonomously in a low-process environment, and collaborate with an experienced engineering team. The position uses a hybrid work approach, averaging 1–2 days per week in the Columbia, Maryland office, with flexibility to adapt to schedule changes.

Requirements

At least 9 years of software engineering experience designing, developing, and deploying complex backend systems with a bachelor's degree in a related field; alternatively, 7 years of experience with a master's degree, or 13 years of experience with a high school diploma.
U.S. citizenship is required.
A current U.S. Government security clearance is desired but not required; candidates with a current Secret or TS clearance may also be considered.
Proficiency in one or more of Java, Python, or Go.
Experience working with or modifying Trino or similar distributed SQL query engines.
Experience with containerization and orchestration, particularly Kubernetes.
Familiarity with PostgreSQL or similar relational databases.
Significant experience building and maintaining API endpoints and backend services.
Experience modifying and extending complex open-source projects.
Practical understanding and experience with identity federation protocols.
Proficiency in deployment automation and CI/CD practices and tools.
Strong problem-solving skills, including systematically debugging and resolving complex issues.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts clearly.
Collaborative, low-ego approach to teamwork and technical discussions.
Self-motivation and ability to work effectively with minimal supervision in a low-process, high-autonomy environment.
Adaptability and ability to learn quickly, context-switch, and master new technologies and technical domains.
Ability to work in a hybrid environment, averaging 1–2 days per week at the Columbia, Maryland office, and flexibility to adapt to schedule changes.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with Keycloak for identity and access management.
Experience with workflow management tools such as Airflow.
Knowledge of monitoring and observability tools such as Prometheus.
Experience with AWS services such as S3, EC2, KMS, or Bedrock.
Exposure to or interest in learning cloud platforms such as GCP or Azure.
A current U.S. Government security clearance is desired.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, test, deploy, and maintain complex, scalable backend systems and services for high data volumes and query loads.
Own challenging technical projects from initial concept through production and ongoing iteration.
Build and evolve RESTful APIs and backend services.
Modify, extend, and optimize complex open-source software such as Trino.
Implement and manage identity federation solutions such as Keycloak.
Develop and operate large-scale data ingestion pipelines, including with Airflow.
Enhance and automate deployment processes and CI/CD using technologies such as Kubernetes.
Collaborate with experienced engineers and contribute to shared knowledge and mutual respect.
Diagnose, debug, and resolve complex technical issues to ensure system reliability and performance.
Develop pragmatic, robust solutions and adapt to new technologies and changing business needs.
Work independently, take initiative, and drive results in a low-process environment.
Perform other duties as assigned.