Senior Backend Software Engineer

Twenty Technologies; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Parental leave

Flexible PTO

401(k)

Job summary

Twenty Technologies is seeking a backend software engineer in the United States to build scalable Go services that power national-security oriented cyber operations. You will design APIs, model graph data, and deploy in both cloud and on‑prem environments, collaborating with product, frontend, and domain experts to deliver robust platform capabilities.

You will work on performance, security, and reliability, leveraging Go, graph databases, NATS, and AWS, with strict adherence to secure coding

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software development experience building backend or full-stack applications.
• Strong proficiency with Go (Golang) and production services.
• Experience with graph databases (design and query performance).
• Knowledge of event-driven architectures and messaging systems.
• Experience building and maintaining APIs (REST/GraphQL).
• Experience with cloud infrastructure, ideally AWS, and cloud-native patterns.
• Hands-on experience with containers and microservices architectures.
• Strong foundation in secure coding practices and security tradeoffs.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS/SE or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable backend services in Go to improve operator decision-making.
• Build high-performance APIs powering workflows and platform capabilities.
• Model complex relationships in graph databases and optimize schemas.
• Implement event-driven systems to process real-time data streams.
• Develop and maintain automated tests for correctness, security, and performance.
• Build and operate microservices deployed on AWS with resilience and cost-aware scaling.
• Create and improve CI/CD pipelines for secure delivery of new capabilities.
• Collaborate with cyber operations experts to translate domain needs into features.
• Work with frontend engineers on efficient API contracts and data structures.
• Evaluate new technologies to unlock better operational outcomes.

Skills

Go (Golang)

Graph databases

Event-driven architectures

APIs (REST/GraphQL)

Cloud infrastructure

Containerization

Secure coding

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Neo4j

AWS Neptune

NATS

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

About the Company

America is under sustained cyber attack. Our adversaries infiltrate our networks, steal our IP, and degrade the digital infrastructure that modern life runs on. They’ve learned—correctly—that those attacks rarely produce consequences.

Twenty was founded to change that, by making our adversaries think twice before they attack us. Our vision is American and allied primacy in cyberspace—a future where they cannot contest us, deterrence is assured, and the free world remains secure.

Founded in 2024, Twenty Technologies (www.twenty.io) industrializes offensive cyber operations for the U.S. and its allies. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Twenty has raised $168M from Khosla Ventures, Accel, Caffeinated Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Point72 Ventures, General Catalyst, and In-Q-Tel.

Mission | On Site | Full Time | U.S. Citizenship Required / No Active Clearance Required

Role Summary

You’ll build the backend systems that power Twenty’s cyber and electromagnetic capabilities—software that ingests real-time operational signals, models complex relationships, and serves high-throughput APIs at machine speed. You’ll design and ship reliable services in Go, working with known-hard problems like graph data modeling, event-driven architectures, and performance at scale. You’ll partner closely with product, frontend, and domain experts to turn operator needs into durable platform capabilities. This role spans both cloud and on-premises environments supporting mission-critical U.S. national security outcomes.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement scalable backend services in Go that improve operator decision‑making and response.

• Build high‑performance APIs that power customer‑facing workflows and internal platform capabilities.

• Model complex relationships in graph databases and optimize schemas and queries for speed and clarity.

• Implement event‑driven systems (e.g., with NATS) to process real‑time operational data streams.

• Develop and maintain automated tests to protect correctness, security, and performance as the system evolves.

• Build and operate microservices deployed on AWS, with an eye toward resilience and cost‑aware scaling.

• Create and improve CI/CD pipelines that enable fast, secure delivery of new capabilities.

• Partner with cyber operations experts to translate domain needs into robust product features.

• Collaborate with frontend engineers on API contracts and data structures that are efficient and usable.

• Evaluate new technologies and patterns that could unlock better operational outcomes.

Who You Are

• You care about building systems that have real‑world impact, especially in national security and defense of democracies.

• You’re excited by hard backend problems: throughput, latency, correctness, and operability under pressure.

• You take pride in clean interfaces—APIs that are intuitive, consistent, and built to evolve.

• You think in systems: data models, services, and workflows that work together reliably.

• You’re pragmatic and iterative—ship value quickly, then harden, measure, and improve.

• You collaborate well across disciplines, communicate clearly, and welcome direct feedback.

• You default to ownership: you notice gaps, propose solutions, and drive them to completion.

Must Have

• You have 5+ years of professional software development experience building backend (or full‑stack) applications.

• You have strong proficiency with Go (Golang) and have shipped production services with it.

• You have experience working with graph databases (Neo4j, AWS Neptune, or similar), including schema design and query performance.

• You have working knowledge of event‑driven architectures and message queues/streaming systems.

• You have experience building and maintaining APIs (REST and/or GraphQL).

• You have experience with cloud infrastructure, ideally AWS, and understand cloud‑native deployment patterns.

• You have hands‑on experience with containerization and microservices architectures.

• You have a strong foundation in secure coding practices and can reason about security tradeoffs.

• You have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to Have

• You’ve delivered software in defense, security, or other mission‑critical environments.

• You’ve built systems for analysts, operators, or high‑tempo users where speed and reliability matter.

• You’ve integrated AI/ML capabilities into production systems (inference, pipelines, or tooling).

• You have experience with large‑scale data processing and analytics workloads.

• You’ve contributed meaningfully to open‑source projects.

• You’ve used observability tooling (metrics, tracing, logging) to debug and improve production systems.

Tech Environment (You Might Work With)

• Go (Golang), GraphQL/REST

• Graph databases (Neo4j, AWS Neptune) and complex graph schemas

• NATS and event‑driven architectures

• AWS, microservices, containers

• CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, infrastructure‑as‑code patterns

• Monitoring and observability tools

Benefits
What's on the table:

• Health. Medical, dental, and vision plan options. Life / AD&D, disability coverage options.

• Family. Paid parental leave for eligible full‑time employees. 12 weeks for birthing parents, 4 for non‑birthing parents, 6 weeks for adoptive, foster, or intended parents through surrogacy.

• Vacation. Paid holidays and flexible PTO. Take what you need.

• Retirement. 401(k) with pre‑tax and Roth options. HSA/FSA options, dependent care FSA.

Benefits vary by location, role, and eligibility. Full plan details provided during the interview and offer process.

Due to U.S. government contract and security requirements, this role is limited to U.S. citizens. Some positions may also require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance. Any active clearance requirement will be listed in the role description.

Twenty is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected status, consistent with applicable law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the hiring process, let us know and we will work with you.