Job DescriptionWe are seeking a backend-focused Software Engineer to help build a modeling and decision-support application for the Defense Health Agency (DHA). The platform enables planners to explore complex healthcare-system scenarios through data integration, simulation, and interactive analysis. This is a hands-on software engineering position for someone who enjoys working across the full software development lifecycle. The Software Engineer will design backend services, build data and simulation pipelines, contribute to cloud architecture, and carry features from initial requirements through deployment and demonstration. The application includes a web-based user experience, but the role's current emphasis is backend engineering, cloud infrastructure, data processing, and complex systems design.
Responsibilities- Own software features from initial design through implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing improvement.
- Design and build Python services, APIs, data-processing workflows, and simulation capabilities.
- Develop modeling logic in collaboration with subject-matter experts and integrate that logic into a production application.
- Build and maintain cloud-native workflows using AWS services such as Lambda, Step Functions, SQS, and S3.
- Work with different compute and deployment models based on performance, scalability, and security needs.
- Design and maintain data pipelines that ingest, validate, transform, enrich, and publish source data.
- Develop APIs and backend application functionality using Python and FastAPI.
- Work with PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy, and Alembic to design schemas and manage database changes.
- Contribute to a Next.js frontend when needed, while primarily focusing on backend and platform development.
- Build and maintain automated delivery workflows using GitLab CI/CD and GitHub Actions.
- Package and deploy applications using Docker.
- Apply DevSecOps practices such as automated testing, code review, dependency management, security scanning, observability, and infrastructure as code.
- Participate in architectural and technical design decisions.
- Demonstrate completed capabilities to users and incorporate their feedback into future development.
- Diagnose challenging technical problems across application code, data, infrastructure, and deployment environments.
*This position is designed to be flexible, with responsibilities evolving to meet business needs and enable individual growth.
Requirements- Approximately 3-5 years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated ability.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance.
- Strong professional experience developing production software in Python.
- Experience designing backend services, APIs, data-processing systems, or other complex software.
- Working knowledge of relational databases and SQL.
- Experience with automated testing, source control, code review, and modern software engineering practices.
- Ability to independently own features while collaborating effectively with engineers, users, and subject-matter experts.
- Ability to communicate technical decisions and demonstrate working software to users.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience with AWS, particularly Lambda, Step Functions, SQS, S3, or comparable cloud services.
- Experience building cloud-based data pipelines.
- Experience with FastAPI or a similar Python web framework.
- Experience with PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy, and Alembic.
- Experience designing distributed, asynchronous, or event-driven systems.
- Experience with Docker and containerized application development.
- Experience creating CI/CD pipelines with GitLab CI/CD or GitHub Actions.
- Familiarity with infrastructure as code, application observability, and automated security scanning.
- Experience with TypeScript, React, or Next.js.
- Experience working directly with users to refine requirements and demonstrate software.
- Experience translating domain-expert knowledge into maintainable software logic.
- Experience with discrete-event simulation, SimPy, mathematical modeling, operations research, or other analytical modeling techniques.
- Familiarity with Kubernetes or another container-orchestration platform.
