Senior Software Engineer

Vaco LLC; Nashville (TN); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco is seeking a hands-on Senior Software Engineer to lead modernization of critical applications in a Nashville-based, hybrid setting. This 12+ month contract role offers a $65/hr W2 compensation and a chance to own end-to-end modernization from concept through production.

You will analyze legacy systems, design scalable backend services, APIs, and data pipelines, and leverage AI-assisted tools to accelerate development while improving performance and reliability.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong OOP fundamentals in C# and Python.
• Experience with APIs, data processing, and backend architecture.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems.
• Experience with AI development tools.
• Experience with Azure or AWS and scalable cloud design.

Responsibilities

• Analyze, reverse-engineer, and modernize legacy applications and backend systems.
• Own modernization initiatives from technical assessment and architecture through hands-on development and deployment.
• Design and build scalable backend services, APIs, data-processing workflows, and integrations.
• Evaluate existing technology and determine the right modernization approach.
• Use AI-assisted development tools to speed up coding, refactoring, testing, troubleshooting, and documentation.
• Improve application performance, reliability, maintainability, and scalability.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to align modernized applications with standards.
• Take increasing technical ownership as applications are modernized.

Skills

Object-oriented programming

C#

Python

API design

Cloud architectures

AI-assisted development tools

Problem solving

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Cursor

Claude Code

Azure

AWS

Job description

Senior Software Engineer - Application Modernization & AI-Assisted Development

Location: Nashville, TN (Hybrid Onsite)

Employment Type: 12+ Month Contract

Compensation: $65/hr (W2)

About the Opportunity

Vaco is partnering with an established enterprise organization seeking a hands-on Senior Software Engineer to modernize business-critical applications and systems.

This is a good fit for an engineer who enjoys digging into complex systems, figuring out how legacy applications work, and rebuilding them with modern architecture, scalable technologies, and AI-assisted development tools.

We're not looking for someone who simply maintains existing applications or delegates the development work. We need someone who still enjoys getting into the code, solving difficult problems, and owning modernization efforts from concept through production.

What You'll Do

• Analyze, reverse-engineer, and modernize legacy applications and backend systems
• Own modernization initiatives from technical assessment and architecture through hands-on development and deployment
• Design and build scalable backend services, APIs, data-processing workflows, and integrations
• Evaluate existing technology and determine the right modernization approach rather than defaulting to one programming language
• Use AI-assisted development tools to speed up coding, refactoring, testing, troubleshooting, and documentation
• Improve application performance, reliability, maintainability, and scalability
• Collaborate with engineering teams to align modernized applications with broader technology standards
• Take increasing technical ownership as applications and systems are modernized

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, ideally building or modernizing enterprise applications
• Strong object-oriented programming fundamentals with experience in C#, Python
• Strong backend engineering experience involving APIs, integrations, data processing, and application architecture
• Experience working with legacy codebases and improving, refactoring, or rebuilding existing systems
• Practical experience with AI development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, or similar tools
• Experience with Azure or AWS and scalable cloud application design
• Ability to independently assess technical problems, recommend an approach, and execute it
• Strong problem-solving skills and a willingness to challenge outdated approaches

By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions.