Senior Software Engineer

Nooks; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering tech startup is seeking a Senior Software Engineer and Architect to develop secure software services for national security operations. You will lead the development of CIaaS applications, focusing on backend technologies while mentoring junior engineers. This remote role is suited for an experienced engineer with a strong background in Python, AWS, and secure service architecture. Candidates must be U.S. citizens with eligibility for Top Secret clearance, and can expect a competitive salary ranging from $140,000 to $180,000.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressively responsible software engineering experience.
• Must have led the architecture, development, and building of backend services and APIs.
• Demonstrable, in-depth knowledge of at least one major commercial cloud platform.

Responsibilities

• Participate in software delivery decisions.
• Lead a major feature or application.
• Build secure multi-tenant services on public cloud platforms.

Skills

Software engineering experience

Communication skills

Self-directed learning

Technical ownership

Experience with Python

Experience with AWS

Experience with Docker

Experience with Kubernetes

Tools

FastAPI

Postgres

Terraform

Job description

About Nooks

Are you seeking an exciting and unique opportunity to grow and support our national security? As a startup, we are offering a limited‑time opportunity to be an equity owner in a pioneering new industry. Nooks is pioneering Classified Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) to provide government and industry partners with the fastest, most efficient access to classified infrastructure. We are building a nationwide network of accredited classified spaces and systems, ensuring that the best technologies equip our nation’s warfighters. At Nooks, we value innovation, collaboration, and a service‑first mindset.

About The Role

Nooks is hiring a Senior Software Engineer and Architect to build the next generation of secure infrastructure and software services powering mission‑critical national security operations. You'll partner closely with our product team and our staff engineer to develop resilient, scalable systems that serve both government and industry customers across a growing network of classified environments.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you’ll lead development of secure applications that underpin Nooks’ Classified Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) platform. This role requires a strong expertise in backend technologies, comfort and competency with front‑end work and a commitment to security, quality, automation, and scalability. You’ll contribute as an individual engineer while helping establish our engineering culture and mentoring others as the team grows.

Key Responsibilities

• Participate in the decisions on “how” we deliver software. (Architecture, languages, decision delegation, contracting, DIY, model selection and integration).
• Partner on the “what, when, who and why” of our software with Design and Product.
• Lead a major feature or application.
• Support junior engineering talent with mentorship and/or technical guidance.
• Build secure multi‑tenant services on public cloud platforms like AWS or GCP.
• Build, architect, and consume APIs and backend services as part of the platform ecosystem, with an emphasis on automation, testing, and security.
• Advocate for improvements to product quality, security, and performance and their impact on your team and others.
• Interact with customers and partners, assisting them with integration of our services.

The Skillset

• 6+ years of progressively responsible software engineering experience.
• Excellent communication skills; experience working with end‑users to design and build solutions to their needs.
• A habit of self‑directed learning of new technologies, and the ability to learn quickly and adapt to a fast‑paced environment.
• Must have led the architecture, development, and building of backend services and APIs to ensure performance, security, and reliability.
• An ability to successfully own technical problems end‑to‑end.
• Have extensive experience with Python, FastAPI, Postgres, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform.
• Demonstrable, in‑depth knowledge of at least one major commercial cloud platform and its associated services (e.g. AWS, GCP).
• Must have made enough mistakes, and booked enough wins, to know what not to build and what good looks like.

LOCATION

Remote with preference for proximity to Washington D.C., Colorado Springs, or El Segundo, CA.

ELIGIBILITY + CLEARANCE

Candidate must be a United States citizen and capable of maintaining Security eligibility up to the Top Secret/SCI level within 45 days of hire.

Salary Range

Salary Range: $140,000 USD - $180,000 USD