Lead Backend Engineer (Modeling & Simulation)
$253k - $294k • Remote • Boston Hub • FullTime
Posted 14d ago
About the job
Code Metal is seeking a Lead Backend Engineer to join their Modeling & Simulation team. This role will lead the backend and data engineering team responsible for building the Python services, APIs, and data systems that power a next-generation wargaming and decision-support platform. The ideal candidate will balance people leadership with hands-on technical ownership, providing Principal-level backend engineering judgment, guiding architecture, and tackling complex technical challenges while growing a team of engineers. This platform is crucial for enabling government users to make critical multi-billion-dollar force-design decisions.
Responsibilities
- Lead and grow a backend and data engineering team while remaining hands-on.
- Define the technical direction for backend services, APIs, data systems, and integrations.
- Design, build, and operate secure, reliable Python services, APIs, workers, and integration layers.
- Translate requirements into clear architectures, technical plans, and deliverable work.
- Establish engineering standards for API design, service boundaries, testing, observability, and code review.
- Build enterprise-grade software for various deployment environments (cloud, private-cloud, on-premises, disconnected).
- Partner with platform and data engineering leaders to ensure system deployability, observability, performance, and maintainability.
- Lead design reviews, RFCs, and technical grooming sessions.
- Debug and resolve complex issues across services, databases, queues, APIs, and infrastructure.
- Review code, mentor engineers, and uphold high quality standards, including validation of AI-assisted code.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to align platform capabilities with mission needs.
- Recruit, develop, and scale the backend and data engineering organization.
- Forecast headcount and technical capacity.
Requirements
- Significant experience building and operating production backend systems for enterprise software.
- Strong Python programming skills and experience designing services, APIs, background workers, and integration layers.
- Proven technical leadership, including architecture guidance, code review, mentoring, and delivery ownership.
- Strong understanding of service architecture, domain modeling, API contracts, system boundaries, and failure modes.
- Experience with relational databases (preferably PostgreSQL), SQL, and data modeling.
- Experience with ORMs and database migration frameworks (e.g., SQLAlchemy, Alembic, Django ORM).
- Experience delivering secure, reliable, observable software in production.
- Familiarity with cloud deployment patterns (AWS, Azure, GCP, or similar).
- Experience supporting software deployed beyond standard SaaS environments.
- Ability to make practical decisions around data consistency, reliability, observability, and operational support.
- Strong cross-functional communication skills and ability to translate ambiguous requirements into working software.