Senior Software Engineer (Contract) - Elixir/Erlang

DockYard is looking for a Senior Software Engineer with deep Back End expertise in Elixir, Erlang, and OTP to embed with a client team building mission-critical software. You will work across distributed Real Time systems that process high-frequency data at scale, support complex planning and simulation workflows, and help manage a large asset tracking platform with hundreds of entity types. This is a fully Embedded engagement; you will join the client's engineering team directly, work with their tools and workflows, and operate as a core contributor focused on Back End tasks that leverage Elixir's strengths in concurrency, fault tolerance, and Real Time data processing. Responsibilities

• Build and maintain Back End systems in Elixir/OTP that process Real Time monitoring and health data from thousands of connected endpoints.
• Design and implement distributed data pipelines that ingest, normalize, and route data from multiple heterogeneous external sources.
• Contribute to planning and simulation tools that support complex operational workflows.
• Work on asset management systems that track and coordinate hundreds of entity types across diverse operational contexts.
• Embed within the client's engineering team and collaborate closely with product, design, and business stakeholders to understand goals, analyze requirements, and deliver solutions.
• Collaborate with the team to translate product needs into a development roadmap and assist with scoping, sizing, and project planning.
• Evaluate existing codebases, recommend improvements, mentor other engineers, and contribute as a highly productive independent contributor.
• Interface directly with clients, leveraging deep industry experience and proven knowledge of Elixir and Erlang while maintaining a consultative approach.
• Support integration work with bespoke external systems and data formats that require careful parsing and reliable data handling.
• Continuously document and share knowledge with others.
• Travel on occasion, including periodic onsite work.

• 5+ years of backend-focused engineering experience, with strong depth in Elixir, Erlang, and OTP.
• Proven experience building distributed, fault-tolerant systems that handle Real Time data at scale.
• Production experience designing and maintaining data ingestion pipelines from multiple heterogeneous sources.
• Familiarity with concurrent programming patterns, process supervision trees, and GenServer-based architectures in Elixir/OTP.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams using Agile methodologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work onsite in Colorado Springs periodically as required by project regulations.
• Highly collaborative and values authenticity, equity, and empathy.

Nice to Have Qualifications

• Experience in defense-adjacent industries.
• Familiarity with high-throughput monitoring or telemetry-style architectures.
• Background in asset management or logistics platforms with complex domain models.
• Experience integrating with government or regulated data systems.
• Familiarity with React (some Front End components exist alongside the Elixir backend).
• Experience working in a remote environment with periodic onsite requirements.
• Prior client services, consulting, or freelancing experience.