Lead Software Engineer - Python/Data Pipelines

Colossus Technologies Group; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Colossus Technologies Group, a cybersecurity startup backed by Series A funding, seeks a Lead Software Engineer to design and build large-scale data pipelines and backend systems. You will contribute to architecture and production code in a Python-heavy environment, mentoring junior engineers and driving performance improvements.

You will own end-to-end backend problems, work with Django and FastAPI, and shape scalable systems for handling high-volume data from multiple sources.

Qualifications

• Experience with Django and Python backend development.
• Proven ability to design and build large-scale data pipelines.
• Experience with large datasets and production data-processing systems.
• Experience with high-volume ingestion and ETL/ELT processes.
• Experience with Kafka, Spark, Airflow or similar data platforms.
• Strong systems design and software engineering fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Design and build large-scale data pipelines from scratch, leading architecture to production.
• Create systems that ingest, transform, and analyze data from multiple sources.
• Own backend engineering problems end-to-end and drive implementation.
• Break complex problems into components and guide them through delivery.
• Design scalable, reliable backend systems and make architectural decisions.
• Contribute production Python code in a Django- and FastAPI-oriented environment.
• Identify bottlenecks, scalability concerns, and data quality issues.
• Improve reliability, maintainability, and performance of existing systems.
• Mentor junior engineers and promote engineering best practices.

Skills

Django

Python

Data pipelines

ETL/ELT

Data quality

Systems design

Distributed systems

Algorithms

Mentoring

Tools

Kafka

Spark

Airflow

Job description

We’re working with a Series A, cybersecurity startup that is looking for a Lead Software Engineer to join its engineering team. This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys solving complex technical problems, designing scalable systems, and building large-scale data pipelines from the ground up. The environment is heavily Python-based, and this person will contribute directly to both architecture and production code while helping mentor other engineers.

Responsibilities:

• Design and build large-scale data pipelines from scratch, taking ownership from initial architecture through production deployment.
• Build systems that ingest, process, transform, and analyze large volumes of data from multiple sources.
• Own complex backend engineering problems end-to-end.
• Break large technical challenges into manageable components and drive them through implementation.
• Design scalable, reliable backend systems and make thoughtful architectural decisions.
• Write production Python and contribute to a backend environment built heavily around Django and FastAPI.
• Identify performance bottlenecks, scalability concerns, and data quality issues.
• Improve the reliability, maintainability, and performance of existing systems.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to engineering best practices.

Required Skills:

• Experience with Django and/or similar Python backend frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience designing and building data pipelines from the ground up.
• Experience working with large or complex datasets and production data-processing systems.
• Experience with high-volume ingestion, ETL/ELT, streaming, or event-driven data architectures.
• Experience with technologies such as Kafka, Spark, Airflow, or similar data-processing/orchestration platforms.
• Data quality, validation, or observability experience
• Strong systems design and software engineering fundamentals.
• Experience designing scalable backend or distributed systems.
• Practical understanding of algorithms and data structures.
• Ability to independently own complex technical projects from design through production.
• Experience mentoring or providing technical guidance to other engineers.