> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/2661531-senior-backend-software-engineer-platform-runtime](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2661531-senior-backend-software-engineer-platform-runtime). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior Backend Software Engineer, Platform Runtime - **Company:** Orbis Operations - **Location:** McLean, VA, United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Unix, Catalyst (Software), Communications Protocols, Software Debugging, Distributed Data Store, Distributed Systems, Protocol Buffers, Inter-Process Communication, Reliability Engineering, Data Streaming, State Machines, Audio Codec, Backend, RTSP, Integration Tests, Data Pipelines - **Published:** August 25, 2026 - **Apply:** https://diversityjobs.com/main/sendform/8/8/28176/1/18062745?backUrl=%2Fcareer%2F18062745%2FSenior-Backend-Software-Engineer-Platform-Runtime-Virginia-Mclean ## About the Role * 5-7 years of experience in backend or platform engineering with demonstrated ownership of meaningful product surfaces * Deep proficiency in Go, including concurrency patterns (goroutines, channels, cancelable contexts) and process and subprocess management * Experience designing and consuming gRPC/protobuf service contracts across process boundaries, including versioned schema evolution * Hands-on experience implementing idempotent state machines and delivery guarantees (at-least-once or exactly-once) in distributed pipelines * Experience with streaming or durable message systems (NATS JetStream or equivalent), including backpressure, bounded queues, and resource limits * Experience building integration test suites (for example testcontainers) that exercise multi-component systems end to end, including live enrollment scenarios * Exceptional communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences; you routinely interface with customers, product leaders, and engineering teams to gather requirements, articulate trade-offs, and drive alignment from initial design to delivery. * Travel up to 25% for customer engagement, architecture reviews, or team collaboration (Middle East) Desired Qualifications * Experience with media or data pipeline processing (RTSP, RTMP, MPEG-TS, sensor, or telemetry data) * Experience building or operating plugin or extension architectures with out-of-process, sandboxed execution * Familiarity with Unix domain sockets, process isolation, and secure inter-process communication patterns * Experience in mission-critical or national security environments where auditability and operational reliability are foundational * Active security clearance (Secret or above); Top Secret preferred Physical Requirements * Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer * Participation in virtual and in-person meetings * Ability to attend planned meetings and/or work in classified spaces for extended periods within the specified work regions * TRAVEL: International travel to Middle East and geopolitical hot zones, up to 25% per calendar year is required. Please apply only if you can meet this requirement ## Description Orbis is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to drive the evolution of Catalyst, our secure distributed data platform. You will act as an architectural lead for critical system interfaces, defining how our components interact, scale, and maintain stability under load. We need someone with a deep intuition for distributed systems; capable of tracing complex request lifecycles end-to-end and resolving systemic bottlenecks that span multiple process, network, and architectural boundaries., * Own architecture for medium-sized features end to end within the Catalyst platform runtime, from design through production rollout * Trace and debug requests across the full pipeline flow to root-cause issues that cross process and network boundaries * Evaluate and document critical technical trade-offs for Catalyst production systems, providing clear architectural rationale for high-impact design decisions * Partner with product and engineering stakeholders to refine requirements, identify technical constraints, and deliver solutions that balance product vision with system integrity * Design and implement core runtime features, including supervised goroutine lifecycles, cancelable contexts, and subprocess supervision * Contribute to the evolution of core system components, including inter-service communication protocols, standardized data models, and distributed persistence layer * Define testing standards and shift testing left, including testcontainers-based end-to-end integration tests spanning the fleet manager and processing unit, and implement chaos engineering or property-based testing to validate system resilience * Participate in on-call rotation for the platform runtime and lead post-mortems with actionable follow-ups for incidents within your area of ownership * Own architecture for medium-sized features end to end within the Catalyst platform runtime, from design through production rollout * Trace and debug requests across the full pipeline flow to root-cause issues that cross process and network boundaries * Evaluate and document critical technical trade-offs for Catalyst production systems, providing clear architectural rationale for high-impact design decisions * Partner with product and engineering stakeholders to refine requirements, identify technical constraints, and deliver solutions that balance product vision with system integrity * Design and implement core runtime features, including supervised goroutine lifecycles, cancelable contexts, and subprocess supervision * Contribute to the evolution of core system components, including inter-service communication protocols, standardized data models, and distributed persistence layer * Define testing standards and shift testing left, including testcontainers-based end-to-end integration tests spanning the fleet manager and processing unit, and implement chaos engineering or property-based testing to validate system resilience * Participate in on-call rotation for the platform runtime and lead post-mortems with actionable follow-ups for incidents within your area of ownership ## Related Videos - [Shipping Faster with Less: Render on Cloud Hosting, AI Workloads, and the Future of DevOps](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1894-shipping-faster-with-less-render-on-cloud-hosting-ai-workloads-and-the-future-of-devops) - [Developing the Backend with Stefan Lingler, CTO at Shpock](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100360-developing-the-backend-with-stefan-lingler-cto-at-shpock) - [Computer Vision from the Edge to the Cloud done easy](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/263-computer-vision-from-the-edge-to-the-cloud-done-easy) - [WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Node and Package Security](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2138-wearedevelopers-live-node-and-package-security) - [Meet Your New BFF: Backend to Frontend without the Duct Tape](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/682-meet-your-new-bff-backend-to-frontend-without-the-duct-tape) - [Remote Driving on Plant Grounds with State-of-the-Art Cloud Technologies](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/251-remote-driving-on-plant-grounds-with-state-of-the-art-cloud-technologies) ## Related Articles - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Fully Remote Software Engineer Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/447-fully-remote-software-engineer-jobs) - [Is Software Engineering Over-Saturated?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/418-is-software-engineering-over-saturated) - [Find a Developer Job: 12 Best Job Sites For Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/165-find-a-developer-job-12-best-job-sites-for-developers) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [Where To Find Software Engineering Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/396-where-to-find-software-engineering-jobs)