Senior Backend Engineer (Offensive Security Platforms)

Hadrian; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Permanent contract

Unlimited paid holiday

Stock options package

Mobile phone stipend

Work-from-home budget

Referral bonuses

Swapfiets

Job summary

Hadrian is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to design and implement high-performance backend services for our offensive security platform. You will work on autonomous systems capable of scanning, analyzing, and validating vulnerabilities at internet scale, building architectures that think like attackers and operate across global markets.

The role requires deep backend expertise, a hacker mindset, and experience with distributed systems, event-driven architectures, and data pipelines using

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience building large-scale distributed systems.
• Proficient in Go, Python, C# or similar; experience with PostgreSQL.
• Background in cybersecurity.
• Experience with AI-enabled development to accelerate workflows.
• Strong problem-solving and debugging skills.
• Experience with scalable, high-performance backends.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain event-driven backend components.
• Architect and deploy backend services powering Agentic AI.
• Write low-level, high-concurrency tools in Go and Python with robust APIs.
• Design data pipelines using Apache Kafka and Kubernetes/Knative.
• Shape architectural decisions aligned with business goals.
• Build autonomous security platform operating at internet-wide scale.

Skills

4+ years distributed systems

GoLang

Python

C#

PostgreSQL

Cybersecurity

AI in development

Problem-solving

Scalability

Communication

Tools

Knative

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

Neo4j

AWS

Job description

Are you obsessed with building high-performance systems that can outsmart the world's most sophisticated hackers?

Then look no further, and join us here at Hadrian as a SeniorBackend Engineer focusing on building our offensive security platforms!

Who are we?

What if cybersecurity could think like a hacker?

At Hadrian, that's exactly what we're building: the future of offensive cybersecurity, powered by autonomous AI agents that think like hackers. Founded in Amsterdam 2021, we're on a mission to change the way organisations defend themselves by helping them find and fix security weaknesses before attackers can exploit them.

Our platform brings together two products: Atlas, which continuously maps an organisation's external attack surface and validates which exposures are genuinely exploitable, and Nova, which uses AI agents to perform in-depth penetration testing on demand. Together, they give security teams the visibility and proof they need to focus on what really matters and stay ahead of emerging threats.

Backed by $65M in total funding, including our recent $40M Series B led by Forgepoint Capital International and SmartFin, we're investing in the next generation of autonomous offensive security and expanding our impact across global markets. With a team spanning 25+ countries and offices in Amsterdam, London, and New York, we're helping organisations rethink what's possible in cybersecurity.

Join us and help shape the future of offensive security.

Your Role:

As a Senior Backend Engineer at Hadrian, you will design and implement high-performance backend services and distributed systems that power our offensive security platform. You will work on autonomous systems capable of scanning, analyzing, and validating vulnerabilities at internet scale, moving beyond traditional scanning into intelligent, agentic security operations.

This role is ideal for engineers who combine deep backend engineering expertise with a hacker mindset. We're looking for someone who enjoys solving complex scalability challenges, building resilient event-driven architectures, and thinking like an attacker to anticipate edge cases before they happen.

If you enjoy working across disciplines to build autonomous security systems that operate at internet scale, and want to help push offensive security beyond human speed and capability, we would love to hear from you!

What you will do as a Senior Backend Engineer at Hadrian:

• Develop and maintain event-driven components that orchestrate and execute core offensive security strategies.

• Translate offensive security strategies into robust, high-quality code.

• Architect and deploy backend services that power our Agentic AI capabilities, moving beyond simple scanning to intelligent, multi-step exploit validation.

• Write low-level, high-concurrency tools in Go and Python while maintaining robust, scalable APIs.

• Design data pipelines capable of handling massive internet-wide reconnaissance data using Apache Kafka and Kubernetes/KNative.

• Leverage your expertise to shape architectural decisions and align technical strategies with business goals.

• Take on a unique challenge. We're on a mission to uncover the most urgent security flaws in our customers' attack surfaces in real-time. You'll help us build our innovative platform, operating at an internet-wide scale.

You are fit for this job because you:

• Have 4+ years of experience building large-scale distributed systems, features or applications.

• Are proficient in languages such as GoLang, Python, C#, or similar technologies, and have experience working with PostgreSQL.

• Have a background in cybersecurity.

• Use AI pragmatically to accelerate development workflows, automating the "good enough" so you can focus on mission-critical security architecture and complex engineering challenges.

• Have exceptional problem-solving abilities, with the grit to investigate and resolve deep-seeded production bottlenecks.

• Enjoy solving complex scalability and performance challenges in distributed environments.

• Communicate with clarity, bridging the gap between technical complexity and product mission.

• Share our values and work in accordance with them

Bonus points if you have:

• Experience in DevOps / DevSecOps environments using Kubernetes, Knative, or Kafka.

• Hands-on experience with Agentic AI frameworks or building autonomous agents.

• Experience with Python and TypeScript.

• Are an expert in Scalability: You have a track record of building systems that don't just work, but perform under extreme load.

• Deep experience with database scaling, especially PostgreSQL and Neo4j.

• Contributions to open source projects.

Our stack:

• GoLang

• Python

• Knative Serving / Kafka

• Docker / Kubernetes / Helm Charts

• C#

• PostgreSQL

• .NET Core

• AWS

• Typescript (NextJS / ReactJS)

Benefits at Hadrian:

• Permanent contract

• Unlimited paid holiday

• Stock options package

• Mobile phone stipend

• Work-from-home budget

• Business travel card

• Swapfiets

• Referral bonuses

Why you want to be part of Hadrian:

Make the internet safer:We enable companies to protect their customers, employees, and other stakeholders from malicious hackers by providing real-time Exposure Management from the Hacker's perspective

Board a primed rocket ship:Hadrian is growing fast; the team is approaching 100 wonderful people, notable customers are signed, and significant funding is raised. Now is the time to join our high-growth journey

Be part of a strong and dynamic culture:Our values define who we are as a group and serve as the cornerstones to guide us in building a product that our customers love. At Hadrian, we achieve this by championing a culture that takes ownership, succeeds together, increases velocity, and pursues growth

Our clients are seeking a world-class and reliable digital security service. That is exactly what we're offering. Therefore, a background check will be part of the process.