Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Code Metal is hiring a Lead Backend Engineer for its Modeling & Simulation team. The role leads and grows the backend and data engineering team while owning the architecture and hands-on development of Python services, APIs, and data systems for a wargaming and decision-support platform.
Responsibilities
- Lead and grow a high-performing backend and data engineering team while remaining hands-on in the codebase
- Define the technical direction for backend services, APIs, data systems, and integrations across simulation, AI, frontend, and platform teams
- Design, build, and operate secure, reliable Python services, APIs, workers, and integration layers
- Translate product, research, and domain requirements into clear architectures, technical plans, and incrementally deliverable work
- Establish strong engineering standards for API design, service boundaries, testing, observability, error handling, migrations, security, and code review
- Build enterprise-grade software for cloud, private-cloud, customer-managed, on-premises, and disconnected environments
- Partner with platform and data engineering leaders to ensure systems are deployable, observable, performant, and maintainable
- Lead design reviews, RFCs, technical grooming, and pragmatic decisions across speed, correctness, reliability, and long-term maintainability
- Debug and resolve complex issues spanning services, databases, queues, APIs, infrastructure, and third-party integrations
- Review code, mentor engineers, and uphold a high bar for quality—including the validation of AI-assisted code in high-assurance environments
- Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and government stakeholders to align platform capabilities with mission needs
- Recruit, develop, and scale the backend and data engineering organization; at senior levels, help forecast headcount and technical capacity
Skills
- Significant experience building and operating production backend systems for enterprise software
- Strong Python programming skills and experience designing services, APIs, background workers, and integration layers
- Proven technical leadership, including architecture guidance, code review, mentoring, and delivery ownership for a small team
- Strong understanding of service architecture, domain modeling, API contracts, system boundaries, and failure modes
- Experience with relational databases—preferably PostgreSQL—along with strong SQL and data-modeling fundamentals
- Experience with ORMs and database migration frameworks, such as SQLAlchemy, Alembic, Django ORM, or comparable tools
- Experience delivering secure, reliable, observable software in production environments
- Familiarity with cloud deployment patterns in AWS, Azure, GCP, or similar platforms
- Experience supporting software deployed beyond standard SaaS environments, including private cloud, on-premises, customer-managed, appliance-style, or disconnected deployments
- Ability to make practical decisions around data consistency, reliability, observability, and operational support
- Strong cross-functional communication skills and the ability to turn ambiguous requirements into clear plans and working software
- Experience leading backend or data engineering teams on simulation, analytics, or decision-support platforms
- Familiarity with agentic AI frameworks, machine learning tooling, or ML pipeline integration
- Experience with cloud-based distributed systems (AWS, GCP, Azure) and Docker/containerized development
- Experience designing rule-driven systems, policy engines, or configuration-driven business logic
- Experience managing managers, or growing engineers into technical-lead roles
- Active U.S. security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, or SCI/SAP)
- Experience with observability practices and tooling, including structured logging, metrics, tracing, health checks, alerting, and service dashboards
- Experience with authentication, authorization, role-based access control, audit logging, and secure service-to-service communication
- Experience designing systems that integrate with external services, legacy systems, third-party APIs, simulators, data pipelines, or customer-owned infrastructure
- Experience with geospatial systems, simulation systems, planning systems, logistics systems, or other complex operational domains
- Experience helping teams establish engineering practices without adding unnecessary process or slowing delivery
Benefits
- Health care plan with 100% premium coverage, including medical, dental, and vision
- 401k with 5% matching
- Paid Time Off (uncapped vacation, plus sick and public holidays)
- Flexible hybrid or remote work arrangement
- Relocation assistance for qualifying employees
- Equity
Company Overview