Software Engineer (Hybrid) - 30870

HII's Mission Technologies division•Columbia, MD

2d•$137,510 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Enlighten is hiring a Backend Developer to join its engineering team, which builds and operates critical backend systems for the Department of Defense. These systems manage trillions of records, ingest billions of new records daily, and support hundreds of thousands of queries per day. The role contributes to designing, building, and scaling core infrastructure, with work spanning API development, open-source system modification, identity federation, data ingestion, and deployment automation. The team emphasizes efficiency, autonomy, pragmatic solutions, and a collaborative, low-ego culture. This is a hybrid role requiring an average of 1–2 days per week at the Columbia, Maryland office, with flexibility to adapt to schedule changes. The anticipated salary range is $137,510–$200,000. Enlighten considers factors such as role responsibilities, location, education or training, experience, certifications, and skills when making offers.

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 a high school diploma and 13 years of experience.
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 the ability to systematically debug and resolve intricate issues.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly articulate technical concepts.
U.S. citizenship is required.
Ability to work in a hybrid environment, averaging 1–2 days per week at the Columbia, Maryland office, with flexibility to adapt to schedule changes.
A current U.S. Government security clearance is desired but not required; candidates with a current Secret or TS clearance may also be considered.
Pragmatic, action-oriented approach; collaborative, low-ego teamwork; self-motivation and comfort working with minimal supervision; adaptability and ability to learn new technologies and technical domains.

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 GCP or Azure.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, test, deploy, and maintain complex, scalable backend systems and services capable of handling massive data volumes and high 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, such as those using 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 evolving business needs.
Work independently in a low-process environment, taking initiative and driving results.
Perform other duties as assigned.