Senior Software Engineer

Uplight; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 135,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Parental leave

Wellness stipend

Work flexibility

Job summary

Uplight is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Virtual Power Plant platform to advance backend services, data models, and cloud infrastructure. You will own the full lifecycle from design to deployment, maintain scalable APIs, and drive CI/CD with IaC practices while evaluating AI-powered tooling.

With 5+ years in software engineering, strong Python, AWS, and SQL/NoSQL expertise, you’ll thrive in an Agile environment and mentor peers as we build a more sustainable energy future.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a strictly related field.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience delivering scalable, production-grade systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python and understanding of design patterns.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS) and building CI/CD pipelines using IaC (Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Solid working knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Extensive experience in Agile/Lean environments and ownership of end-to-end systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain scalable backend services and robust APIs for the VPP platform.
• Design, deploy, and manage cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for rapid, secure production delivery.
• Design cost-effective, scalable data models for relational and NoSQL databases.
• Monitor data quality and ensure production data is accurate and highly available.
• Ensure reliability via unit and end-to-end tests and proactive monitoring.
• Lead architectural design and promote best software practices.
• Explore agentic AI integration in development and operations workflows.
• Collaborate with Product Management, Delivery, and Operations; mentor peers.

Skills

Python

CI/CD

Agile/Lean

Testable code

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS or related

Tools

AWS

Terraform

CloudFormation

SQL/NoSQL databases

Job description

Description

Uplight is creating a new category of energy. We make software that manages energy resources in homes and businesses—including things like smart thermostats, electric vehicles, solar panels, storage batteries, heat pumps, and even people’s behavior—to generate, shift, or save energy to balance the grid, making it more efficient and reliable. This creates clean energy capacity that can be used by the power grid instead of burning more fossil fuels. Our solutions accelerate the transition to clean energy and save money for energy customers.

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer – Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to drive our technology forward and help us lead the clean energy revolution. Uplight’s VPP platform provides AI-powered monitoring, forecasting, and dispatch tools to aggregate and orchestrate Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) across multiple asset classes, customer segments, and device types. Your work will directly enable grid operators to draw on flexible, dispatchable capacity at scale to support a variety of critical grid services. In this senior role, you will champion a “full service ownership” culture, taking features from design and development all the way through deployment, infrastructure management, and operational health.

How You Will Make An Impact

• Develop and maintain the scalable backend services and robust APIs that power Uplight’s VPP platform, facilitating seamless access to curated data for internal users and external customers.
• Champion a full service ownership culture by designing, deploying, and managing the underlying cloud infrastructure using modern Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices.
• Build, optimize, and maintain robust Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to ensure rapid, secure, and reliable delivery of code to production environments.
• Design cost-effective, scalable data models for various relational and NoSQL databases, ensuring the systems can handle large-scale data storage and retrieval.
• Implement automated systems and processes to monitor data quality, ensuring production data is consistently accurate and highly available for dependent business processes.
• Ensure system reliability through rigorous unit and end-to-end regression testing, proactive system monitoring, performance benchmarking, and debugging of critical production issues.
• Drive architectural design, implement best software engineering practices within the team, and proactively hedge technical risks to deliver projects predictably.
• Help introduce agentic AI into the team’s day-to-day workflows—evaluating and piloting AI coding agents and assistants across development, code review, testing, and operational runbooks.
• Establish the patterns, guardrails, and best practices for using agentic AI responsibly and effectively, collaborating with teams across the wider engineering organization to refine and adopt them with confidence.
• Collaborate closely with Product Management, Delivery, and Operations to translate customer challenges into new capabilities, while mentoring peers through constructive code reviews and technical guidance.

What You Bring To Uplight

• BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a strictly related field.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of delivering scalable, production-grade systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python (or similar object-oriented programming languages). You consider writing readable, testable, and maintainable code a core requirement and have a deep understanding of design patterns.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS), building CI/CD pipelines and utilizing Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Solid working knowledge of various SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Extensive experience operating within Agile/Lean development environments with a strong commitment to full service ownership and operational excellence.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women, marginalized genders and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Uplight we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Why join Uplight in leading the fight against climate change?

At Uplight, We’re Not Just Offering a Job – We’re Offering a Chance To Be Part Of The Solution To One Of The World’s Biggest Challenges. As a Certified B Corporation, We’re Deeply Committed To Both Social And Environmental Responsibility. Here’s Why You Should Join Our Team Of Passionate Uplighters

• Make a meaningful impact: Your work directly impacts our mission of decarbonization and building a more sustainable future.
• Grow your career: We offer ample advancement opportunities, robust learning and development programs, and a supportive team environment that fosters collaboration and innovation.
• Thrive: We offer comprehensive benefits, including flexible time off, generous parental leave, a wellness stipend, and work flexibility to help you thrive both personally and professionally.
• Belong to an inclusive community: We celebrate diversity and foster an inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, empowered, and heard. Our Employee Resource Groups offer opportunities to connect with colleagues who share your interests and backgrounds.
• Be part of a growing movement: Join a team of dedicated individuals who are passionate about creating a more sustainable future. We offer a collaborative environment where your ideas are valued and your contributions recognized. Together, we can build a brighter tomorrow.

To learn more about our comprehensive benefits package and other perks, visit uplight.com/careers.

Salary range

$135,000 to $153,000 USD + bonus

Application deadline

October 15, 2026

The actual offer, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be determined by a number of factors including the applicant’s experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity among our team. Candidates must be eligible to obtain CFIUS approval as a condition of employment.

Uplight provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race (including hair texture and hairstyles), color, religion (including head coverings), age, sex, national origin, disability status (including neurodivergence), genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, neurotypicality, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.