Senior Software Development Engineer

Jobtailor; Boulder (CO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

BranchLab is seeking a backend-focused engineer in Boulder, CO to design and build scalable data-processing pipelines using Python and Apache Spark. You will architect and operate distributed workloads on AWS (EKS/EMR) and lead small engineering efforts while staying hands-on.

Responsibilities include mentoring engineers, driving technical decisions, and improving reliability, performance, and security of production systems powering privacy-first healthcare data platforms.

Qualifications

• Proficient in Python for backend services and data pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and own backend systems and APIs in Python.

Skills

Python Backend Development

Apache Spark Data Processing

AWS Cloud Architecture

Team Leadership

SQL Proficiency

Tools

AWS EKS

AWS EMR

Apache Airflow

Snowflake

Databricks

Kubernetes

AWS S3

AWS Athena

Job description

• Design, build, and own backend systems and APIs using Python
• Build and optimize large-scale data-processing pipelines using Apache Spark
• Design systems for ingesting, transforming, aggregating, and querying large datasets
• Architect and operate distributed workloads on AWS using technologies such as EKS, EMR, and Airflow
• Lead small engineering teams or project workstreams while remaining a hands-on contributor
• Break down complex initiatives, drive technical decisions, coordinate execution, and help remove blockers
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, code reviews, debugging, and day-to-day technical guidance
• Improve the reliability, scalability, performance, security, and observability of production systems
• Architect and build systems powering BranchLab’s privacy-first, data-driven healthcare commercialization platform
• Process, transform, and query large volumes of anonymized healthcare data and build services that turn data into insights and downstream applications

Requirements

• Applicants must have legal authorization to work in the U.S. without the need for current or future sponsorship
• Strong backend software engineering experience, particularly with Python
• Significant hands-on experience building and optimizing production data pipelines with Apache Spark
• Experience processing large datasets in distributed environments and strong SQL skills
• Experience with cloud-native systems, ideally AWS, including Kubernetes, EMR, S3, and Athena
• Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, data processing, performance, and reliability
• Experience leading technical projects or small engineering teams while remaining a hands-on contributor
• Strong technical judgment, communication skills, and a pragmatic approach to building maintainable production systems
• Previous experience as a tech lead, team lead, or hands-on engineering manager is a nice-to-have
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD is a nice-to-have
• Experience with data lakes, Snowflake, Databricks, or streaming architectures is a nice-to-have
• Experience deploying machine learning models or building ML infrastructure is a nice-to-have
• Background in data modeling, query optimization, and performance tuning is a nice-to-have
• Exposure to Healthcare, AdTech, or privacy-sensitive data systems is a nice-to-have
• Ability to work onsite in Boulder, CO in a hybrid arrangement

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in backend software engineering with a strong focus on Python and Apache Spark for building and optimizing data-processing pipelines. Proven ability to lead engineering teams, mentor peers, and architect scalable systems in cloud environments, particularly AWS.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Python Backend Development
• Apache Spark Data Processing
• AWS Cloud Architecture
• Team Leadership
• SQL Proficiency

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Backend Software Engineering
• Data Pipeline Optimization
• Distributed Systems Design
• Data Processing
• Performance Tuning
• Data Modeling
• Query Optimization
• Machine Learning Infrastructure
• Infrastructure-as-Code
• CI/CD

Soft Skills

• Technical Judgment
• Communication Skills
• Mentoring

Industry Keywords

• Healthcare Data
• Privacy-Sensitive Data Systems
• AdTech

Tools & Technologies

• AWS EKS
• AWS EMR
• Apache Airflow
• Snowflake
• Databricks
• Kubernetes
• AWS S3
• AWS Athena