Senior Backend Engineer: Cloud-Native & Leadership

Western Governors University; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 144,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Wellbeing program

Tuition discount

Flexible PTO

Parental leave

Job summary

Western Governors University in Salt Lake City is seeking a Senior Backend-Focused Full Stack Software Engineer to design, build, and scale backend services using Java and Python, collaborating with Angular and Flutter front-ends.

You will drive architecture decisions, mentor engineers, and deliver secure, high-performing systems across the stack, leveraging cloud-native approaches and modern DevOps practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong backend development expertise with Java and Python.
• Experience building scalable APIs, microservices, and distributed systems.
• Experience with Spring Boot, FastAPI, Flask, Django, or similar backend frameworks.
• Solid understanding of full-stack application architecture.
• Working knowledge of Angular, TypeScript, and frontend integration patterns.
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and DevOps practices.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Strong troubleshooting, performance tuning, and debugging skills.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and technical leadership abilities.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend services, APIs, and distributed systems using Java and Python
• Lead backend architecture decisions focused on scalability, reliability, security, and performance
• Build and maintain RESTful APIs and microservices that support web and mobile applications
• Collaborate with frontend engineers working in Angular and Flutter to deliver seamless end-to-end solutions
• Optimize database performance, system integrations, and application reliability
• Implement cloud-native solutions and contribute to infrastructure automation initiatives
• Drive engineering best practices around testing, CI/CD, observability, and secure software development
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, technical leadership, and architectural guidance
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues across the application stack
• Participate in technical strategy discussions and platform modernization initiatives
• Contribute to engineering standards, documentation, and continuous improvement efforts

Skills

Backend development

Java

Python

APIs & microservices

Distributed systems

Full-stack awareness

CI/CD

Troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/SE or equivalent experience

Tools

Spring Boot

FastAPI

Flask

Django

Angular

Flutter

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Western Governors University in Salt Lake City is seeking a Senior Backend-Focused Full Stack Software Engineer to design, build, and scale backend services using Java and Python, collaborating with Angular and Flutter front-ends.

You will drive architecture decisions, mentor engineers, and deliver secure, high-performing systems across the stack, leveraging cloud-native approaches and modern DevOps practices.