Backend API Developer

U.S. citizenship and Public Trust (NACI/T1) eligibility required. On-site work in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

About the role

The Backend API Developer builds and operates the service layer behind an operator application in a cyber command center supporting national cyber defense across Critical Infrastructure and government partners. Responsibilities focus on low-latency service delivery, correctness under load, and strict entitlement enforcement.

Responsibilities

• Build and operate independently deployable services behind the application.
• Maintain interface contracts, versioning, and backward compatibility.
• Implement consistent request handling, validation, errors, authentication, and authorization.
• Create automated tests for service behavior and contract compliance.
• Integrate with upstream services via REST and streaming interfaces.
• Maintain accurate, consistent view state and ensure clients connecting mid-stream receive a complete picture.
• Coordinate payload and interface changes with upstream service owners.
• Deliver updates using server-sent events and WebSocket streams.
• Manage connection lifecycle, authentication, backpressure, reconnection, and catch-up.
• Sustain large numbers of concurrent long-lived connections without degradation.
• Enforce role and attribute-based authorization server-side.
• Implement content filtering so users receive only authorized data.
• Test entitlement enforcement and maintain audit logs of all deliveries.
• Build and operate event-triggered functions for routing, downstream actions, and notifications.
• Integrate with managed messaging services.
• Ensure triggered actions are idempotent, observable, and safely retried.
• Design and validate services for low-latency, high-throughput use.
• Instrument services for monitoring, diagnosis, and production incident response.
• Deploy through established pipelines into containerized environments.
• Maintain required training and certifications; report certification status monthly.
• Collaborate with front-end engineers on service contracts.
• Work with platform teams on configuration, scaling, secrets, and deployment.
• Participate in sprint planning, demos, and reviews.

Requirements

• Experience building and operating production service interfaces at scale.
• Experience integrating with upstream services and maintaining derived state.
• Knowledge of push/streaming delivery, connection lifecycle, and backpressure.
• Experience with server-side authorization models.
• Experience with containerized deployment and cloud environments.
• Experience instrumenting services and supporting production incidents.
• BS in computer science or engineering and 8+ years relevant experience (or equivalent).
• Public Trust eligibility and U.S. citizenship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with streaming platforms (Kafka, MSK, Event Hubs).
• Experience with API gateways or service meshes.
• Experience with serverless functions (Lambda, Azure Functions).
• Experience supporting latency-sensitive operational systems.
• Experience delivering software in regulated environments.
• Current cloud developer/associate certification.

Pay

The likely salary range for this position is $119,000 - $161,000.

Schedule

• Scheduled weekly hours: 40
• Travel required: less than 10%
• Telecommuting options: onsite

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision plan options, some with Health Savings Accounts.
• 401(k) plan with company match (pre- and post-tax contributions up to IRS annual limits).
• Paid time off: vacation, sick, personal time, holidays, parental leave, military leave, bereavement, and jury duty.
• Flexible work weeks where possible.
• Short- and long-term disability benefits, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness, and business travel and accident insurance.