Lead Backend Engineer, Python/Django – Federal Program

Aretum; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Aretum is seeking a Lead Software Engineer/Developer to serve as the hands-on technical lead of an Agile scrum team supporting a large federal digital content management program. This backend-focused role centers on Python and Django services, REST APIs, and ETL pipelines that move content and metadata between enterprise systems.

Java familiarity is required for a portion of the platform. You will mentor a mid-level developer, coordinate with government leads, and own code quality,

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of professional software development experience on Agile teams.
• Proven ability to lead technical designs, conduct peer code reviews, and mentor junior developers.
• Deep experience building production backend services and REST APIs in Python (Django).
• Strong PostgreSQL data modeling, schema design, and query optimization.
• Working proficiency in Java for maintaining existing components.
• Experience with search/indexing tools like Solr/Elasticsearch.
• Experience designing microservices and secure REST APIs.
• Experience building ETL/data integration pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead of a scrum team with government developers and stakeholders.
• Design, develop, and unit test Python/Django backend services and REST APIs.
• Build ETL pipelines and metadata transformations across enterprise systems.
• Implement content transfer capabilities with secure transport and logging.
• Design relational data models and optimize PostgreSQL performance.
• Mentor mid-level developers and enforce coding standards.
• Collaborate with client teams on lifecycle documentation and security artifacts.

Skills

Technical leadership

Python

Django

REST APIs

ETL pipelines

Java

PostgreSQL

Solr/Elasticsearch

AWS

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE or related field

Tools

Jenkins

Git

SonarQube

Terraform

Docker

Job description

Aretum is seeking a Lead Software Engineer/Developer to serve as the hands-on technical lead of an Agile scrum team supporting a large federal digital content management program. This backend-focused role centers on Python and Django services, REST APIs, and ETL pipelines that move content and metadata between enterprise systems.

Java familiarity is required for a portion of the platform. You will mentor a mid-level developer, coordinate with government leads, and own code quality,