Senior Backend Engineer

Sphinx Defense · Remote · Engineering

Posted 2026-07-06

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ABOUT THE ROLE

Sphinx is hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to join our team, building the next generation of mission planning and command and control software for space communications programs. This team is charged with creating modern, resilient services and capabilities to service the US Government for the next decade and beyond.

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will play a key role in building a cutting-edge communications platform for US government satellites. Sphinx is hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to join our Space Communications team, building a ground communications and data-transport platform for US government satellites. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will lead the development of core platform services and design and build technology to support the operations of various US  government satellites. You'll work as both an individual contributor and a lead for more junior engineers.

You will have an outsized role in determining what we build and how we work. You'll work as both an individual contributor and a lead for more junior engineers.

What you will be focusing on:

Building multi-tenant services on public cloud platforms like AWS

Building, architecting, and consuming APIs and backend services as part of the platform ecosystem with an emphasis on automation, testing, and security

Advocating for improvements to product quality, security, and performance that have a particular impact on your team and others

Supporting junior engineering talent with mentorship or technical guidance

Interacting with customers and partners to help them integrate with our services

Scale the services and solve interesting Space Communication challenges

You might be a good fit if you have:

5+ years of progressively responsible software engineering experience

Have extensive experience with Python, FastAPI, Postgres, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform*

Demonstrable in-depth knowledge of at least one commercial cloud platform and its associated services

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

Made enough mistakes and booked enough wins to know what not to build and what good looks like

Excellent communication skills, 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

LOCATION

This is a fully remote role. All work must be completed in the United States. Occasional travel may be required, such as client visits, semiannual company gatherings, and other project related travel as needed may be required.

COMPENSATION

This role is between $160,000 - $185,000 base salary.

BENEFITS

Compensation includes competitive salary, meaningful equity ownership, profit sharing, employer 401(k) contribution, and 100% employer covered medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.

EEO STATEMENT

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