Principal Software Engineer; Remote

Job Description

Enlighten is looking to hire exceptional Senior Backend Developers to join our high-impact engineering team. We build and operate critical backend systems that manage trillions of records, ingest billions of new records daily, and service hundreds of thousands of queries per day across the Department of Defense (DoD). Our team values getting things done efficiently, fostering a low-ego environment, and empowering our engineers with autonomy.

In this role, you'll be a key contributor to designing, building, and scaling this core infrastructure. You will tackle a diverse set of challenges, from developing robust API endpoints and modifying complex open-source systems like Trino, to architecting intricate identity federation solutions, managing large-scale data ingest, and streamlining our deployment automation. If you are a mature, pragmatic, and highly skilled developer who thrives on flexibility and making a tangible impact with minimal bureaucratic overhead, we want to talk to you.

Anticipated Salary Range: $-$.

• 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.

• 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 Postgre
  
  SQL 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 solve 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, , Greenville, SC and/or Augusta, GA. If near one of the Enlighten offices will be asked to come into the office sometimes 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.