Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Platform)

Optimal Dynamics; New York, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health / Dental / Vision coverage

Equity

Unlimited PTO

401(k) with match

Job summary

Optimal Dynamics is seeking a Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Platform) to join our Platform Engineering team. You will own systems, services, and tooling enabling product teams to ship quickly and safely, with impact across every customer deployment.

You'll work with Python, Django, AWS, and Terraform to design and scale backend infrastructure, influence technical direction, and mentor engineers. Remote-friendly role; NYC HQ for in-person collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, or equivalent technical experience
• 8+ years of hands-on Infrastructure & Platform Engineering experience
• Experience scaling cloud-native systems
• Strong Python 3 and AWS expertise
• Familiarity with event-driven architectures (Kafka or similar)
• Hands-on IaC tools: Terraform, Spacelift, CloudFormation
• Containerization & orchestration with Docker, Kubernetes, ECS
• Knowledge of security and compliance frameworks
• Experience improving DevEx and monorepo workflows
• Security-focused leadership across teams

Responsibilities

• Platform Architecture & Evolution: design, implement, and scale core infrastructure
• Developer Experience: build tooling, CI/CD pipelines, and workflows
• Security & Compliance: implement security-by-design controls
• Mentorship & Influence: lead engineering teams and align platform strategy
• Collaboration: partner with product and engineering leaders
• Embrace startup dynamics and wear multiple hats

Skills

Python 3

AWS

Terraform

Spacelift

Docker

Kubernetes

ECS

PostgreSQL

DynamoDB

CI/CD

Security

Observability

Tools

Terraform

Spacelift

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Platform)

Remote

About Our Company

Built on over four decades of pioneering research at Princeton University, our platform represents the leading edge of innovation in freight and transportation planning. We help customers unlock double-digit revenue gains and drive smarter, data-driven operations at scale. With the recent close of our Series C funding round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, we’re entering an exciting new phase of growth. Today, Optimal Dynamics is a high-growth company of ~70 employees, backed by top-tier investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, The Westly Group, Activate Capital, and Koch.

We're on a mission to redefine the way logistics decisions are made - and we’re just getting started.

About Our Team

We are a team of bright, kind, and solution-oriented people focused on creating value for our customers. We can solve problems individually, but understand that the best solutions are found when the team brainstorms ideas together. We are excited about balancing the need to deploy new solutions quickly and designing solutions that are secured, reliable, maintainable, and scalable for the long run.

Role Overview

We're looking for a talented Senior or Staff-level Backend Software Engineer to join our Platform Engineering team and help build the foundation that powers intelligent transportation logistics technology.

Platform Engineering is the team our engineers build on. You'll own the systems, services, and tooling that let product teams ship quickly and safely - and you'll contribute directly to key customer-facing projects where platform capabilities are the product. This is a role with leverage: your work multiplies across every team and every customer deployment. The role spans internal tool Development, Infrastructure, and Security, ensuring that our engineering team can build, deploy, & operate systems with speed, safety, & confidence.

In this role, you'll help define best practices, guide cross-functional initiatives, & design systems that scale with our rapidly growing platform. You'll partner closely across engineering & product teams, balancing reliability & velocity while mentoring others & raising the overall technical bar. You'll work with Python, Django, AWS, and Terraform to design and scale the backend and infrastructure behind our platform. You'll influence technical direction, architectural standards, and how our engineering organization operates as it grows.

This is a full-time, remote-friendly position open to candidates across the United States. For those who prefer an in-person experience, our New York City headquarters offers a collaborative office environment. Ready to make an impact? Join us and help redefine the logistics industry!

What You Will Do

• Platform Architecture & Evolution: Design, implement, and scale core infrastructure to ensure reliability, performance, and security.


• Developer Experience (DevEx): Build and improve tooling, CI/CD pipelines, and workflows, optimizing developer productivity and minimizing friction.


• Security & Compliance: Champion security-by-design principles, implementing controls that safeguard systems and data without slowing innovation.


• Mentorship & Influence: Serve as a technical leader across teams, coaching engineers, and driving alignment on platform strategy.


• Collaboration: Partner with product and engineering leaders, balancing speed, cost, and resilience in every decision


• Embrace the Dynamic Startup environment: You'll wear multiple hats, tackle new challenges, and contribute wherever needed to fuel our growth!

Who You Are

• Educated: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent technical experience


• Experienced:


• 8+ years of hands-on Infrastructure & Platform Engineering experience


• Proven track record of scaling cloud-native systems


• Strong Python 3 expertise


• Strong AWS expertise


• Familiarity with event-driven architectures (Kafka or similar).


• Familiarity with Relational databases (Postgres, DynamoDB, MySQL, SQL Server, or similar)


• Hands-on IaC tool experience (i.e. Terraform, Spacelift, CloudFormation), observability, monitoring, & incident response.


• Hands on containerization and orchestration experience (i.e. Docker, Kubernetes, ECS)


• Optimization-Driven:


• Proven track record of improving DevEx by leveling up tooling, pipelines, & automation.


• Experience improving monorepo developer workflows (i.e. Bazel, Buck, Pants).


• Security-Focused:


• Knowledge of compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.) and how to operationalize them.


• Experience leading security initiatives(i.e. hardening environments; building secure-by-default workflows)


• Leader: A history of mentoring engineers and shaping technical direction across teams.

Nice to have (Bonus Points)

• Experience with transportation systems (e.g., TMS, ELD) or scientific/analytics applications is a significant advantage.


• Familiarity with modern data tools such as dbt and DuckDB is highly valued.

About our Tech Stack and Development Practices

At Optimal Dynamics, our entire infrastructure runs on AWS, leveraging a wide range of services including DynamoDB, Aurora, SSM, and SQS to power our intelligent logistics platform.

• Backend & AI: Python 3 and Java


• Data Stack: Trino, Dagster, dbt, DuckDB, SQL, and Preset


• IaC: Terraform and Spacelift


• Cloud: AWS (ECS/RDS/S3/etc)


• CI/CD: Bazel, Github, AWS CodePipeline/CodeBuild


• GenAI: Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT Codex, GitHub Copilot

We follow modern development best practices with all code stored on GitHub. Every pull request undergoes thorough code reviews, is fully unit tested, and deployed through our CI/CD pipeline for continuous quality assurance.

Compensation: $180 - $220k in on-target earnings

• Competitive compensation, including Series C level equity


• Health / Dental / Vision 100% covered for employee and 50% for dependents


• Life Insurance, with optional supplemental insurance


• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)


• Health Spending Account (HSA)


• 401(k) with match


• Unlimited PTO (vacation, personal days, sick days, jury duty, military leave, bereavement)


• 11 Holidays


• Paid Parental Leave for all employees


• Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurances, and AD&D Insurance


• Fitness membership reimbursement

Optimal Dynamics is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace with equal opportunity for all applicants and employees. Our goal is to recruit the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool regardless of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex (including pregnancy), age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Optimal Dynamics is committed to working with and providing access and reasonable accommodation to applicants. If you require an accommodation, please reach out to [e-mail] once you've begun the interview process. All requests for accommodations are treated discreetly and confidentially, as practical and permitted by law.