Backend Engineer; Secret Cleared

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a skilled Backend Engineer to assist with building modern, cloud-native mission operations software for our partners based out of Denver, CO;
San Francisco, CA;
Los Angeles, CA;
Seattle, WA;
OR Washington, D.C.

As a Backend Engineer
, you’ll build ground satellite operations software using Python and AWS, and integrate with services like EC2, S3, RDS, Fargate, and EKS—with a focus on scalability, security, cost, and performance. You’ll design and implement APIs, automate processes, and troubleshoot issues across a modern, containerized stack.

While the primary focus is backend development, the ideal candidate can also contribute to generative AI integrations, Dev Sec Ops /CI/CD tooling, and software architecture.

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and APIs (Graph
  
  QL/REST) in Python.
• Integrate and optimize workloads across AWS (Lambda, ECS/EKS/Fargate, EC2, RDS, S3, Cloud Watch, EFS/EBS).
• Containerize services with Docker and deploy to EKS/ECS; manage IaC via Terraform (or equivalent).
• Collaborate cross-functionally to refine requirements, ship new features, and resolve production issues.
• Implement observability (logging, metrics, tracing), performance tuning, and cost controls.
• AI Platform Integration:
  • Call and manage APIs for OpenAI, Anthropic, Ask Sage or similar LLM platforms.
  • Handle rate limits, retries, timeouts, and failure modes with guardrails and backoff strategies.
  • Manage prompt templating/versioning, secure key management, and typed/structured outputs.
  • Build AI features into production systems with human-in-the-loop and safety measures.

• Python for production-grade backend services (FastAPI/Flask/Django), including async/await and testing (pytest).
• APIs:
  Graph
  
  QL (schemas, resolvers, pagination, security) and/or REST; API performance troubleshooting.
• Containers:
  Docker (Dockerfiles, multi-stage builds, env/secrets, networking basics).
• Infrastructure as Code:
  Terraform (modules, remote state, IAM/VPC, ECS/EKS, RDS, S3).
• AWS:
  Lambda, ECS/EKS/Fargate, EC2, S3, RDS, Cloud Watch, EFS/EBS—service selection, reliability, cost/perf tradeoffs, and basic IAM security.
• Kubernetes (EKS):
  Pods, services, deployments, YAML, debugging failed deployments.
• Git &
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Clean commit history, solid PRs, constructive reviews, CI pipelines.

• Production experience with OpenAI/Anthropic/Ask Sage or similar LLM APIs.
• Secure key management (e.g., AWS Secrets Manager/SSM), rate limiting, retries/backoff, timeout control.
• Prompt templating/versioning, token budgeting, observability, and cost dashboards.
• Guardrails: confidence thresholds, schema validation (e.g., JSON), human-in-the-loop, staged rollouts, and feature flags.

• Exceptional communication with frontend, backend, and product partners.
• Deep technical analysis and troubleshooting.
• Independent self-starter who ships features end-to-end.
• High standards for maintainability, reliability, and performance.
• Entrepreneurial/startup mindset and willingness to flex outside strict role boundaries.

$120,000 – $180,000 base + Equity

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science (or related); or equivalent hands‑on experience.
• 3+ years in backend or full‑stack engineering.
• Secret Clearance;
  Ability to obtain a U.S. Security Clearance.

• Healthy work‑life balance: required 15 days off, unlimited PTO, and most U.S. federal holidays.
• Quarterly health & wellness benefits; comprehensive health insurance with 100% coverage for employees.
• 401(k) with 4% match.