Senior Backend Engineer | Defense-tech Startup

GT was founded in 2019 by a former Apple, Nest, and Google executive. GT’s mission is to connect the world’s best talent with product careers offered by high-growth companies in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.

On behalf of our partner in the defence-tech domain, GT is looking for a Senior Backend Engineer interested in AI, ML and aerospace.

About the Client:

Our client is a cutting-edge Aerospace and Defense company committed to delivering innovative, secure, and compliant solutions for our customers. They specialize in mission-critical technology services for government and private sector customers, ensuring excellence in aerospace systems design, performance, and compliance.

About the Project & the Role:

This team is building secure, cloud-native infrastructure that powers mission-critical aerospace and defense systems for government and private sector clients. The backend systems they develop must meet the highest standards of reliability, performance, and compliance — supporting everything from real-time data processing to ML-integrated features used in the field.

They are now looking for a skilled and mission-driven Senior Backend Engineer to join the product engineering team. In this role, you’ll take ownership of designing, building, and scaling backend services that are both secure and high-performance. You’ll work across cloud infrastructure, data systems, and ML integration to support modern defense and aerospace applications where resilience and precision are non-negotiable.

Responsibilities:

• Architect Secure Systems: Design, build, and maintain secure backend services and APIs using Python.

• Design Scalable Infrastructure: Define system architecture with a focus on reliability, fault tolerance, and long-term scalability.

• Data Modeling: Create and manage performant, auditable database schemas in Postgres.

• Support ML Integration: Collaborate with the AI Architect to support data pipelines and deploy ML-powered features; understand model serving and inference integration.

• Cloud & DevOps: Deploy cloud-native services using GCP (or AWS/Azure), Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.

• Event-Driven Workflows: Build reactive systems using Kafka, Redis Pub/Sub, or similar tools.

• Security-First Engineering: Adhere to security and compliance standards (DoD, FedRAMP, NIST); implement authentication, encryption, and audit controls.

• Cross-Functional Work: Partner with product managers, QA, and front-end teams to deliver end-to-end features.

• Code Quality: Lead and participate in peer reviews to uphold code reliability, clarity, and maintainability.

• Documentation: Produce high-quality documentation for APIs, system architecture, and backend workflows. 

Essential knowledge, skills & experience:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
• 5–8+ years of backend engineering experience, ideally in regulated or high-availability environments (e.g., defense, aerospace, finance, or healthcare).
• Proficiency in Python for backend development and API design.
• Strong mathematical foundation (e.g., applied math, probability, data modeling).
• Familiarity with machine learning processes — understands common model types, inference workflows, and how to interface with ML systems.
• Hands-on experience with Postgres and scalable data models.
• Proficiency in Kubernetes, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with cloud platforms, ideally GCP (AWS or Azure also acceptable).
• Working knowledge of event-driven systems (Kafka, Redis, or equivalents).
• Solid understanding of secure software development, encryption, and authentication standards.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills — comfortable working cross-functionally and mentoring junior engineers.

Interview Steps:

1. GT interview with Recruiter

2. Technical interview

3. Final interview

4. Security Check