Senior Software Engineer – Full Stack

Empower Pharmacy; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision coverage

Paid time off

401(k) matching

Wellness perks

IV therapy

Compounded medications

Job summary

Empower Pharmacy in Houston is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design and build scalable backend systems powering pharmacy operations, manufacturing, logistics, and compliance across its 503A/503B environment.

You will contribute to system design, architecture, and leadership, delivering reliable platforms while applying AI-assisted tooling to accelerate development and ensure regulatory adherence.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience delivering backend features independently.
• Proven track record of production-grade backend systems that are performant, reliable, and maintainable.
• Experience contributing to technical direction and mentoring junior engineers.
• Experience in regulated industries requiring auditability, data traceability, and compliance-aware system design.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field; Master's preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend systems within pharmacy operations, manufacturing, and logistics domains; use AI-assisted tools to model dependencies.
• Apply architectural standards and participate in design reviews to reduce systemic risk in Empower’s highly regulated 503A/503B environment.
• Implement and maintain integrations across internal services and external regulatory systems using canonical data contracts and API versioning protocols; leverage AI tooling to detect integration drift and accelerate service onboarding.
• Build high-throughput, low-latency backend systems for large-scale pharmacy and logistics workloads; apply AI-augmented capacity planning to maintain performance under peak demand without over-provisioning infrastructure.
• Implement fault-tolerant systems with observability layers—distributed tracing, structured logging, and anomaly detection that surface degradation early; collaborate with SRE teams to support incident response and reduce recovery time.
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers; contribute to shared platform capabilities—CI/CD pipelines, reusable libraries, infrastructure-as-code—and promote AI-powered tooling to improve efficiency.

Skills

Distributed systems

Backend architecture

Microservices design

Java / Spring Boot

GraphQL

Node.js

React

TypeScript

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Empower Pharmacy is a visionary healthcare company dedicated to making quality, affordable medication accessible to millions of patients nationwide. As the nation’s most advanced 503A compounding pharmacy and FDA-registered 503B outsourcing facility, we’re redefining what’s possible in personalized medicine and pharmaceutical manufacturing. We’re proud to be recognized as one of Houston’s fastest-growing private companies and ranked #116 in Healthcare & Medical on the Inc. 5000 List for 2025.

Our strength is built on four core values: People, Quality, Service, and Innovation. Guided by these principles, we’ve created a uniquely integrated healthcare platform powered by advanced technology, operational excellence, and a relentless commitment to patient care. From manufacturing and quality control to distribution and customer experience, our teams work together to raise industry standards, expand access to critical medications, and improve outcomes for patients and providers across the country.

At Empower, joining our team means more than starting a new role. It means becoming part of a mission-driven organization that’s transforming healthcare at scale. We invest deeply in our people, encourage bold thinking, and create opportunities for growth, leadership, and innovation at every level. Your ideas matter here, your development is supported, and the work you do has a direct impact on the lives of millions.

If you thrive in a fast-moving, purpose-driven environment where innovation, collaboration, and ambition come together, Empower Pharmacy is the place for you. Let’s transform healthcare together.

Position Summary

The Senior Software Engineer delivers meaningful business impact by designing and building scalable backend systems that power pharmacy operations, manufacturing, logistics, and regulatory compliance across Empower’s 503A/503B environment. Contributing to system design and technical direction within their domain, this role helps shape how mission-critical platforms grow and mature at scale. AI serves as a force multiplier—accelerating engineering velocity, elevating system observability, and enabling data-driven decision-making across the platform. This role demands strong technical depth: engineers who pair solid execution with sound design judgment, who thrive in ambiguous environments, and who consistently raise the quality bar within their team.

Responsibilities

Architecture and Enterprise Integration

• Systems Ownership: Design and implement backend systems within pharmacy operations, manufacturing, and logistics domains; use AI-assisted tools to model dependencies, assess load, and validate design decisions before committing engineering resources.
• Governance Standards: Apply and contribute to architectural standards governing how services communicate and evolve; participate in design reviews to reduce systemic risk in Empower’s highly regulated 503A/503B environment.
• Platform Interoperability: Implement and maintain integrations across internal services and external regulatory systems using canonical data contracts and API versioning protocols; leverage AI tooling to detect integration drift and accelerate service onboarding.

System Performance and Reliability

• Scale Engineering: Build high-throughput, low-latency backend systems for large-scale pharmacy and logistics workloads; apply AI-augmented capacity planning to maintain performance under peak demand without over-provisioning infrastructure.
• Resilience Architecture: Implement fault-tolerant systems with observability layers—distributed tracing, structured logging, and anomaly detection that surface degradation early; collaborate with SRE teams to support incident response and reduce recovery time.
• Performance Optimization: Conduct performance analysis identifying bottlenecks at the database, network, and application tiers; use AI-assisted profiling to prioritize fixes and deliver measurable improvements in latency and throughput.

Engineering Leadership and Enablement

• Technical Mentorship: Mentor junior and mid-level engineers within the team—elevating design literacy and code quality through structured reviews and pair programming; model rigor and learning agility that raises the bar for those around you.
• Platform Velocity: Contribute to shared platform capabilities—CI/CD pipelines, reusable libraries, infrastructure-as-code—that standardize delivery; leverage AI-powered code generation and automated testing to improve team efficiency and output quality.
• Strategic Influence: Contribute to technical direction and roadmap priorities within your team; translate operational complexity and regulatory requirements into clear technical recommendations that build alignment among peers and stakeholders.

Knowledge and Skills

• Expertise in distributed systems, backend architecture, and microservices design at enterprise scale.
• Strong proficiency in frontend technologies including React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and TypeScript within production environments.
• Strong proficiency in Java/ Springboot ecosystem and optionally to have Python, C# within production environments.
• Strong proficiency in GraphQL and/or Node.js-based development for distributed platform integration.
• Deep understanding of performance optimization, system reliability, and observability practices.
• Ability to design systems that meet regulatory, security, and data integrity requirements.

Experience and Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience, with a demonstrated ability to own and deliver complex backend features and systems independently.
• Proven track record delivering production-grade backend systems that are performant, reliable, and maintainable in complex, high-growth environments.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to technical direction and provide mentorship to junior engineers within a team setting.
• Experience in regulated industries requiring auditability, data traceability, and compliance-aware system design.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field required; Master's degree preferred.

Key Competencies

• Customer Focus: Builds trust through customer-centric solutions.
• Strategic AI: Guides responsible AI adoption and adaptation.
• Optimizes Work Processes: Drives efficiency with continuous improvement.
• Collaborates: Partners effectively to achieve shared goals.
• Resourcefulness: Secures and deploys resources efficiently.
• Manages Complexity: Simplifies and solves complex challenges.
• Ensures Accountability: Delivers on commitments with integrity.
• Situational Adaptability: Adjusts approach to shifting conditions.
• Communicates Effectively: Tailors messages to diverse audiences.

Values

• People: Empowering people defines who we are.
• Quality: Excellence in every product, every time.
• Service: Serving others is our highest purpose.
• Innovation: Advancing care through technology and discovery.

Employee Benefits, Health and Wellness

• medical
• dental
• vision coverage
• paid time off
• 401(k) matching
• wellness perks
• IV therapy
• compounded medications

Learn more: https://careers.empowerpharmacy.com/benefits/

Physical Requirements

While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee is required to talk and hear. The employee is often required to remain in a stationary position for a significant amount of the workday and frequently use their hands and fingers to handle or feel in order to access, input, and retrieve information from the computer and other office productivity devices. Employees are regularly required to move about the office and around the corporate campus. The employee is regularly required to stand, walk, reach with arms and hands, climb or balance, and to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.