Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Enlighten is a leader in big data solution development and deployment, with expertise in cloud-based services, software and systems engineering, cyber capabilities, and data science. They are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to design, build, and scale critical backend systems that manage massive data volumes for the Department of Defense.
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, test, deploy, and maintain complex, scalable, and critical backend systems and services capable of handling massive data volumes and high query loads
- Take full ownership of challenging technical projects, driving them from initial concept through to production and ongoing iteration
- Engage with a variety of technical domains, including:
- Building and evolving RESTful APIs and backend services
- Modifying, extending, and optimizing complex open-source software (e.g., Trino)
- Implementing and managing sophisticated identity federation solutions (e.g., Keycloak)
- Developing and operating large-scale data ingestion pipelines (e.g., using Airflow)
- Enhancing and automating deployment processes (CI/CD) using technologies like Kubernetes
- Collaborate effectively within a team of experienced engineers, contributing to a culture of shared knowledge and mutual respect
- Apply strong problem-solving skills to diagnose, debug, and resolve complex technical issues, ensuring system reliability and performance
- Champion pragmatic and robust solutions, adapting quickly to new technologies and evolving business needs
- Operate with a high degree of independence in a low-process environment, taking initiative and driving results
- Other duties as assigned
Skills
- Security Clearance: A current U.S. Government Security Clearance is desired, but not required; U.S. Citizenship required. Can also consider candidates with a current Secret or TS level clearance
- 15+ years of experience as a software engineer, designing, developing, and deploying complex backend systems and a Bachelors in related field or 13 years experience with Masters; or High School Diploma and 19 years experience
- Proficiency in one or more of our primary backend languages: Java, Python, 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
- A drive for pragmatic solutions with a strong bias for action and a 'get stuff done' mentality
- Possess a low-ego and collaborative approach to teamwork and technical discussions
- Self-motivated and thrive in a low-process, high-autonomy environment, working effectively with minimal supervision
- Highly adaptable and a quick learner, comfortable context-switching and rapidly mastering new technologies and diverse technical domains such as API development, complex open-source modification, identity federation protocols, large-scale data ingest, and deployment automation
- Significant experience building and maintaining API endpoints and backend services
- Comfortable and experienced in modifying and extending complex open-source projects
- Possess a solid understanding and practical experience with identity federation protocols
- Proficient in deployment automation and CI/CD practices and tools
- Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to systematically debug and resolve intricate issues
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and can articulate technical concepts clearly
- Fully remote role, unless candidate is near one of our office locations: Columbia, MD, San Antonio, TX, Boise, ID, Greenville, SC and/or Augusta, GA. If near one of the Enlighten offices will be asked to come into the office some to interact with the local team (schedule depends on location/office cadence)
- Hands-on experience with Keycloak for identity and access management
- Experience with workflow management tools like Airflow
- Knowledge of monitoring and observability tools such as Prometheus
- Experience with AWS cloud services (e.g., S3, EC2, KMS, Bedrock)
- Exposure to or interest in learning other cloud platforms like GCP or Azure
Benefits
- 100% paid employee premium for healthcare, vision and dental plans.
- 10% 401k benefit.
- Generous PTO + 10 paid holidays.
- Education/training allowances.
- Our hybrid work approach ensures that you can make lasting relationships with your team and collaborate in-person to get the job done—while having the flexibility to work from home when needed to achieve focused results.
Company Overview