Systems Engineer [AQ-18045]

Aquent; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Subsidized health, vision, and dental

Paid sick leave

Retirement plan with company match

Free online training through Gymnasium

Job summary

Aquent seeks an experienced software engineer to own enterprise authentication components and secure web apps in a fast-paced financial services partner environment.

You will drive passwordless login, risk-based authentication, and API gateway patterns while mentoring peers and ensuring high-quality, secure deliveries across core services powering operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent.
• 5+ years building enterprise apps with Java/JS and modern web frameworks.
• Experience with secure web apps and REST APIs; OAuth/SAML/JWT knowledge.
• Familiarity with Spring Boot, gateway patterns, and service architectures.
• Proficient in automated testing and CI/CD tooling; observability tooling.

Responsibilities

• Own full lifecycle of complex app components and secure auth features.
• Collaborate with product, architects, and engineers to plan work.
• Build secure authentication journeys (Passwordless, risk-based flows).
• Develop REST APIs, gateway patterns, and reusable services.
• Champion testing, code quality, security scanning, and release readiness.
• Provide production support and mentoring to peers.
• Leverage AI-assisted tools for coding, testing, and docs while owning quality.

Skills

Java

JavaScript

REST APIs

Spring Boot

Security

CI/CD

Observability

GenAI coding assistants

OAuth/SAML/JWT

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

Spring Cloud Gateway

MongoDB

PostgreSQL

Kubernetes

GitHub Actions

Job description

Step into a pivotal role where your engineering expertise will directly shape the future of secure digital experiences for a leading organization. This is your chance to drive innovation in modern authentication, leverage cutting-edge AI-assisted engineering workflows, and make a tangible impact on enterprise-wide applications, ensuring robust security and seamless user journeys.

About The Organization

Aquent is partnering with a pioneering organization at the forefront of innovation within the financial services sector. This organization’s mission is to deliver secure, scalable, and cutting-edge technology solutions that empower its users and drive the industry forward. They are committed to leveraging advanced engineering practices, including AI-assisted workflows, to achieve excellence and maintain a robust, secure digital environment.

About The Role

Are you an independent and passionate engineer eager to own complex features and contribute to critical design decisions? We are seeking a talented individual to join a dynamic engineering team focused on enterprise middleware and online security technology. In this role, you will be instrumental in building and supporting sophisticated enterprise web applications and spearheading modern authentication journeys, including Passwordless Login and Risk Based Authentication. Your contributions will directly enhance the security posture and user experience for a vast user base, making a significant and visible impact on the core services that power operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of complex application components and secure authentication capabilities, from design and development to testing and support.
• Collaborate closely with product owners, SCRUM masters, architects, and fellow engineers to break down features, estimate effort, and consistently meet delivery commitments.
• Engineer secure, resilient, and user-friendly authentication journeys, leveraging risk signals, telemetry, and sophisticated policy-based decisioning.
• Drive innovation in modern identity solutions, contributing to initiatives like Passwordless Login, FIDO2/WebAuthn/passkey, and Risk Based Authentication.
• Develop and integrate robust REST APIs, implement gateway patterns, and create reusable services that adhere to architectural standards and platform principles.
• Champion high standards for automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, code quality, security scanning, observability, and release readiness.
• Provide expert production support for high-stress, time-critical situations, demonstrating strong ownership and sound technical judgment to ensure system stability.
• Act as a mentor to less-experienced engineers, fostering growth through insightful code reviews, design discussions, and knowledge sharing.
• Actively utilize AI-assisted engineering tools throughout the software development lifecycle, including implementation, refactoring, unit testing, regression support, code review preparation, scripting, troubleshooting, and documentation, to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Apply agentic and spec-driven development practices, converting design inputs such as API contracts, data models, and integration details into structured prompts or specifications for AI-assisted implementation.
• Rigorously validate AI-generated recommendations, code, tests, and documentation, applying strong engineering judgment, secure coding practices, and established team quality standards.
• Share practical learnings and best practices with peers on effective prompt usage, custom instructions, and responsible AI-assisted development patterns.

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience developing enterprise applications using Java, JavaScript, and modern web frameworks (Angular preferred).
• Strong experience developing secure web applications and building or consuming REST APIs.
• Experience with Spring Boot, Spring Cloud Gateway or similar gateway patterns, and service-based architectures.
• Proficiency with automated testing frameworks such as JUnit, Karma, Cucumber, BDD, accessibility testing, or similar tools.
• Experience with MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or similar data platforms.
• Familiarity with CI/CD technologies, code quality tooling, and secure engineering practices.
• Experience with observability and log analysis using tools such as Splunk, BigQuery, Grafana, or similar platforms.
• Solid understanding of OAuth, SAML, JWT, and modern authentication concepts.
• Ability to research and apply evolving identity standards and industry practices to scalable solutions.
• Hands-on experience or demonstrated practical exposure using GenAI coding assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code) within IDE, CLI, or developer workflow environments.
• Ability to leverage AI assistance for common engineering tasks such as code suggestions, test generation, refactoring support, review preparation, troubleshooting, automation scripts, and documentation, while maintaining full ownership for correctness and quality.
• Working familiarity with agentic workflows, spec-driven development, structured prompting, and custom instructions for AI-assisted software delivery.
• Ability to critically validate AI-assisted outputs for correctness, security, maintainability, and alignment with design intent.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience designing or implementing Passwordless Login, FIDO2/WebAuthn/passkeys, or modern authentication journeys.
• Experience with Risk Based Authentication concepts, including risk scoring, step-up authentication, device signals, behavioral signals, and policy-based access decisions.
• Experience deploying containerized applications to cloud platforms (e.g., GCP, AWS).
• Experience with CI/CD and code security tooling (e.g., GitHub Actions, Bamboo, Sonar, Blackduck, Veracode).
• Familiarity with NIST identity standards and technology environments within regulated industries.
• Performance testing or performance engineering experience.
• Experience applying AI-assisted development practices to improve delivery velocity, test coverage, troubleshooting efficiency, documentation quality, or developer productivity.
• Exposure to Large Language Models or AI-enabled engineering workflows in enterprise, regulated, or security-sensitive technology environments.

About Aquent Talent

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world’s biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We’re about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.