Sr Backend Engineer, Discovery API

Vantor is forging the new frontier of spatial intelligence, helping decision makers and operators navigate what's happening now and shape what's coming next. Vantor is a place for problem solvers, changemakers, and go-getters-where people are working together to help our customers see the world differently, and in doing so, be seen differently. Come be part of a mission, not just a job, where you can:
Shape your own future, build the next big thing, and change the world.

To be eligible for this position, you must be a U.S. Citizen. This position requires an active U.S. Government security clearance, applicants who do not currently hold the required clearance will not be eligible for consideration. Employment for cleared roles is contingent upon verification of clearance status.

Export Control/ITAR:
Certain roles may be subject to U.S. export control laws, requiring U.S. person status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Please review the job details below.

Satellite imagery helps people map, monitor, and respond to what's happening across the planet, and our catalog API is how customers find and access it. We're looking for a senior backend developer to own that API end to end on a small, high-autonomy team, with real influence over its architecture and room to grow your scope.

This is a hands-on role for someone who likes hard problems at scale: large geospatial datasets, both raster and vector, a high-traffic API, and performance work that actually matters. You'll design and build APIs and data pipelines in Python, tune performance against big Postgres datasets, and run it in the cloud.

• Own and evolve the catalog API, from design through production
• Build and operate the data pipelines that keep the catalog current
• Tune performance across the API and Postgres at scale
• Ship safely and often, with automated tests and reliable deploys
• Shape the architecture and technical direction alongside a small team

• 6+ years of backend development, building secure, scalable services in production
• Strong Python and API design, with a framework such as FastAPI or Flask
• Deep experience building and operating data pipelines over large datasets
• Strong PostgreSQL, including performance tuning at scale
• Fluent building and operating cloud services (AWS, GCP, or similar), with infrastructure as code such as Terraform or Cloud Formation
• Strong automated testing discipline
• Applies AI to accelerate implementation
• US citizenship required
• Able to obtain and maintain a US security clearance

• Catalog experience with geospatial data or other large‑scale archives
• Familiarity with geospatial standards and tooling such as STAC, OGC APIs, PostGIS, and GDAL
• Kubernetes or similar container orchestration
• Zero‑downtime deploys and service modernization

Pay Transparency: To support pay transparency, Vantor includes salary ranges in all U.S. job postings. Starting pay for this role will fall within the listed range and will be based on factors such as experience, qualifications, skills, location, and market conditions. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role should not expect to receive compensation at the top of the range.

The listed range reflects the expected pay for this position, and final offers will be determined based on each candidate's experience, expertise, and alignment with the role.

The base pay for this position within Colorado is: $ - $ - $ annually.

For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.

Benefits: Vantor offers a competitive total rewards package that goes beyond the standard, including a robust 401(k) with…