Lead Backend Architect for AI Driven Cloud and Secure APIs

Oteemo; Reston (VA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Oteemo seeks an experienced Lead Software Engineer to oversee distributed architectures powering mission-critical APIs and data services in a cloud-hosted environment, preferably AWS. You will combine hands-on technical leadership with strategic oversight to build secure, scalable backend systems using TypeScript and GoLang.

You will drive API integration patterns across GraphQL (Apollo Router) and REST, implement secure integrations with API gateways, and guide data workflows to load data into

Qualifications

• US Citizenship or Permanent Residence Status Required.
• Expert-level TypeScript and GoLang with hands-on GraphQL/Apollo Server experience.
• Experience with relational databases and ORM frameworks (PostgreSQL, GORM/TypeORM/PrismaORM).
• Cloud proficiency (AWS, GCP, or Azure) with serverless and container orchestration.
• Security-by-design, TLS, OIDC/JWT, IAM, and encryption tooling knowledge.
• Experience with distributed tracing, logging, and metrics pipelines; SQS/EventBridge knowledge a plus.
• Proven CI/CD experience (GitHub Actions, Jenkins) and IaC (CDK/Terraform).

Responsibilities

• Lead decomposition of services and GraphQL subgraphs across serverless and container workloads.
• Define resiliency and observability patterns; drive security-by-design initiatives.
• Oversee compute stacks, networking, and IaC deployments across environments.
• Drive CI/CD practices for zero-downtime deployments and automated health checks.
• Mentor engineers and liaise with product, compliance, and security teams.

Skills

TypeScript

GoLang

GraphQL

REST API

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Security best practices

Tools

CDK

Terraform

GORM

TypeORM

PrismaORM

Apollo Server

Job description

Oteemo is an industry-leading technology consulting firm at the forefront of AI-driven, cloud native, enterprise DevSecOps transformation. We build intelligent, automated, secure systems for organizations tackling their toughest technical and business challenges and we're pushing the boundaries of what AI, generative AI, and agentic systems can do in production, not just in theory. Join us and you'll work alongside recognized experts on cutting-edge projects that blend cloud native architecture, extreme automation, and AI/ML at the core. We foster a dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative culture built on continuous learning, where your ideas shape real outcomes for our clients. If you're passionate about building what's next in AI and cloud technology and want to do it with a team that sets the standard rather than follows it, Oteemo is where you belong.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to oversee the design, development, and operation of distributed application architectures powering mission-critical APIs and data services in a cloud-hosted environment, preferably AWS. In this role, you'll combine hands-on technical leadership with strategic oversight to build secure, scalable, and resilient backend systems using TypeScript and GoLang. You'll drive API integration patterns across GraphQL (including Apollo Router) and REST architectures, enable secure integrations through API gateways with robust identity and authorization management, and lead data integration workflows that load and synchronize data with enterprise data warehouses such as Snowflake.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead service decomposition strategies for GraphQL subgraphs and backend APIs across synchronous (serverless) and asynchronous (containerized) workloads.
• Define resiliency patterns (health modeling, DLQs, autoscaling) and observability strategies (distributed tracing, structured logging, dashboards).
• Ensure security-by-design principles, including TLS everywhere, OIDC/JWT authentication, least-privilege IAM, and encryption policies.
• Oversee compute stacks (serverless functions, container orchestration) and networking (private subnets, secure ingress, VPC endpoints).
• Manage IaC deployments using CDK, Terraform, or equivalent tools while enforcing compliance and auditability across environments.
• Drive CI/CD best practices for zero-downtime deployments, blue/green rollouts, and automated health checks.
• Guide teams in building GraphQL subgraphs with Apollo Server (TypeScript/Node), including resolver design, schema evolution, and validation directives.
• Lead development of Golang-based services for high-throughput APIs, webhooks, and background processing with robust concurrency and context management.
• Implement structured logging, error handling, and observability across all services.
• Design and optimize data models for relational stores (PostgreSQL or equivalent) while enforcing encryption and backup strategies.
• Implement ORM-based persistence layers using GORM, PrismaORM, or TypeORM for maintainable and secure data access.
• Architect messaging workflows with queues, event buses, and orchestration frameworks for reliable, at-least-once delivery.
• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of technical excellence aligned with business objectives.
• Collaborate with product, compliance, and security teams to meet regulatory and operational requirements.
• Drive delivery of secure, compliant, and scalable services that meet latency/error SLOs and improve developer experience.

Qualifications

• US Citizenship or Permanent Residence Status Required.
• Expert-level TypeScript and GoLang, with strong understanding of Node.js and Go runtime patterns; hands-on experience with Apollo Server (GraphQL), Express, and RESTful API design.
• Experience with GORM (Go), PrismaORM or TypeORM (TypeScript), and relational schema design.
• Proficiency in at least one major cloud provider (AWS/GCP/Azure); experience with serverless (Lambda/Functions), container orchestration (ECS/Fargate, Kubernetes), and IaC (CDK/Terraform).
• Strong background in TLS, OIDC/JWT, IAM/RBAC, and KMS or equivalent encryption services.
• Experience with distributed tracing (X-Ray/OpenTelemetry), structured logging, and metrics/alerting pipelines; familiarity with SQS/EventBridge or equivalents (Pub/Sub, Service Bus), DLQs, and workflow engines.
• Experience with automated pipelines using GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or equivalent tools.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with GraphQL federation and schema governance.
• Familiarity with multi-cloud strategies and cost optimization.
• Background in high-volume data processing and event-driven architecture.

Additional Information

We Value:

• Drive:Passion and energy to implement quality technical solutions. Self-motivation and intellectual curiosity
• Commitment to Quality:Passion to conceive and produce world-class solutions that drive real-world value for the customer
• Customer Focus:Consultative approach to solving problems for customers. Expectations management.
• Communication:Superior communication skills. Ability to clearly articulate problems, solutions, risks, rewards etc. (written and verbal)
• Technical Skills:Love for technology. You have to be inherently passionate about technology.
• Business Acumen:Technology ultimately is used to enable the business. We look for people who understand how the businesses can be enabled through their technical solutions

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

By clicking the link above or any third-party link within this posting, you are leaving this site and going to a third-party website where the third-party website's terms and privacy policy apply