Software Engineer, AWS, Backend Developer

We fuse rigorous, methodologically sound analysis with our cutting‑edge technology platform, Narrative Analytics®. This powerful combination enables us to quantitatively analyze open‑source media, deliver strategic recommendations, and craft executive‑level communication strategies for clients with missions that matter.

Our team is a vibrant mix of communication specialists, data scientists, and subject matter experts with extensive experience across U.S. Government agencies, non‑profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies. By joining Protagonist, you’ll immerse yourself in a collaborative environment where innovation thrives, and your contributions truly matter.

• Innovative Solutions: We co‑develop cutting‑edge solutions with our clients to address tough communication problems and capitalize on opportunities to make a tangible impact.
• Data‑Driven Insights: Our tools and methodologies provide actionable insights that help clients meet their communication objectives and stay ahead of global challenges.
• Applied Expertise: We integrate our solutions within client organizations, leveraging our profound expertise to address critical issues and ensure sustainable success.

At Protagonist, you’ll work on compelling projects that make a real difference. We seek talented individuals eager to contribute to our mission and grow alongside us. If you’re passionate about communication, data analysis, and making an impact, we invite you to explore a career with Protagonist.

Ready to take the next step in your career? Join us at Protagonist and be part of a team that's making a difference.

Job Description

We're seeking a talented Software Engineer to join our Washington, DC‑based team. In this role, you’ll collaborate with data scientists, analysts, and engineers to build, optimize, and scale our Narrative Analytics® platform, which helps clients make informed, strategic decisions.

• Build and Scale
  • Contribute to the development of core features of our Narrative Analytics® platform using Python, React, and related tools
  • Build robust backend services and APIs, and implement frontend functionality as needed
  • Help design, build, and scale infrastructure components on AWS
  • Work with Kubernetes and containerized workloads to support microservice deployments
  • Integrate data processing pipelines and support analytics features such as NLP and search
• Collaborate and Grow
  • Collaborate with senior engineers and data scientists to bring research prototypes into production
  • Participate in code reviews and uphold high standards of software quality
  • Work closely with senior team members to learn architectural design and system tradeoffs
  • Contribute to technical discussions and engineering planning processes
  • Participate in Agile development cycles, sprint planning, and standups
  • Seek and incorporate feedback from peers and mentors to grow your technical skill set

• Must meet applicable U.S. Government contract eligibility requirements, including any citizenship or security clearance requirements associated with assigned work
• Must be eligible to obtain a US Government security clearance
• BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• 3+ years of experience in professional software engineering roles
• Strong experience with Python in production environments
• Experience building modern web applications (React, Type Script preferred)
• Familiarity with cloud environments, particularly AWS
• Experience with PostgreSQL or similar relational databases
• Passion for writing clean, maintainable code and learning from peers

• Experience with Elasticsearch or similar analytics/search engines
• Exposure to machine learning…