Software Developer (Backend - API)

Job Family:
Data Science & Analysis

Travel Required:
Up to 10%

Clearance Required:
Active Top Secret (TS)

Guidehouse is seeking a Software Developer to join our Technology / AI and Data team, supporting mission-critical initiatives for Defense and Security clients. In this role, you will lead the design and development of backend services that power advanced AI-driven platforms, enabling secure, scalable, and high-performance workflows. You will build and optimize APIs and service layers that integrate AI/ML capabilities, retrieval systems, and analyst-facing applications, while ensuring compliance with rigorous federal security and regulatory standards. Collaborating closely with engineers, architects, and mission stakeholders, you will deliver innovative solutions that enhance operational effectiveness and support national security objectives.

What You Will Do:

• Serves as the lead backend engineer designing, implementing, and optimizing the API and service layer powering the FBI's AI-based adjudication platform.
• Builds scalable backend services integrating LLM inference, retrieval pipelines, scoring engines, memo-generation tools, and analyst-facing applications.
• Ensures backend components meet FedRAMP High, RMF, CJIS, and FBI ATO requirements, including secure coding, access management, structured logging, and auditability.
• Collaborates with AI/ML engineers, cloud developers, frontend developers, and mission stakeholders to deliver a unified, mission-aligned adjudication system.

Backend Architecture & API Engineering

• Design and implement secure REST and GraphQL APIs supporting document ingestion, inference requests, retrieval operations, scoring workflows, and memo generation.
• Develop backend microservices supporting adjudication logic, workflow routing, metadata extraction, entity processing, and evidence-correlation functionality.
• Develop schema-driven payload contracts ensuring consistency, provenance tracking, and audit trail enforcement across adjudication workflows.
• Implement high-throughput request-handling patterns including async workers, job queues, batching, parallel processing, and retry frameworks.

Workflow Orchestration & System Integration

• Develop workflow orchestration logic integrating LLM inference services, embedding pipelines, vector retrieval layers, SEAD-4 scoring modules, and analyst review triggers.
• Implement event-driven integration using SQS/SNS, Kafka, EventBridge, or Step Functions to coordinate asynchronous scoring and memo-processing workflows.
• Integrate backend systems with case management solutions, identity systems, financial/criminal data feeds, and adjudication-history repositories.
• Ensure all integrations enforce strict authentication, authorization, validation, and audit requirements.

Data Processing, Document Handling & Transformation

• Develop parsers and transformation functions for SF-86 forms, attachments, investigative summaries, and multi-component evidence files.
• Implement chunking, segmentation, metadata extraction, and normalization pipelines to support RAG workflows and long-context LLM inference.
• Develop backend utilities for PII redaction, classification enforcement, entity labeling, and evidence tagging to support adjudication review.
• Ensure all document ingestion and processing steps maintain full traceability and error-handling visibility.

Security, Compliance & Logging

• Apply secure coding practices aligned with FedRAMP High, RMF, OWASP, CJIS, and FBI ATO requirements.
• Implement structured audit logging, inference logs, retrieval traces, scoring records, and analyst-override events for audit and compliance purposes.
• Collaborate with security engineers to ensure enforcement of RBAC, workload identity policies, encryption patterns, and API authorization controls.
• Ensure all backend components and workflows meet compliance expectations for chain-of-custody, evidence provenance, and adjudicator accountability.

Performance Optimization & Reliability

• Optimize backend services using caching layers, indexing strategies, pagination, connection pooling, batching, and concurrency tuning.
• Implement reliability patterns such as circuit breakers, exponential backoff strategies, distributed locks, fallback mechanisms, and DLQ routing.
• Develop operational metrics for latency, throughput, failure modes, and degradation patterns, integrating them into monitoring dashboards.
• Ensure backend systems maintain stability and predictable performance under high-volume adjudication workloads.

Collaboration, Leadership & Mission Enablement

• Partner with AI/ML teams to ensure backend services support model requirements, inference routing, retrieval assembly, and structured output delivery.
• Collaborate with frontend developers to design and refine backend endpoints supporting dashboards, memo builders, workflow tools, and risk-display interfaces.
• Participate in sprint ceremonies, architecture reviews, peer code reviews, and stakeholder briefings.
• Mentor junior developers in backend best practices, distributed systems, secure coding, and scalable API design.

What You Will Need:

• An ACTIVE and MAINTAINED "TOP SECRET" Federal or DoD security clearance
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• Requires a University Degree and minimum 4-6 years of prior relevant experience; (Relevant experience may be substituted for formal education or advanced degree)
• 5 years of backend engineering experience, including 3 years building APIs or microservices.
• Proficiency in Python, Node.js, or Java with strong command of REST, GraphQL, and asynchronous programming patterns.
• Experience designing and building secure, scalable backend APIs (REST/GraphQL).
• Experience with distributed systems, async processing, message-driven architectures, and microservices.
• Experience integrating with ML services or external APIs in secure systems.

What Would Be Nice To Have:

• An ACTIVE and MAINTAINED "TOP SECRET" Federal or DoD security clearance.
• Once onboard with Guidehouse, new hire MUST be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DoD "TOP SECRET/SCI (TS/SCI)" security clearance.
• AWS services (ECS/EKS, Lambda, API Gateway, SQS/SNS).
• 8+ years of backend engineering experience, including 4+ years building APIs or microservices.
• Specific frameworks (FastAPI, NestJS, Spring Boot).
• Vector DBs or LLM API experience.

What We Offer:

Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.

Benefits include:

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
• Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus
• Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Basic Life & Supplemental Life
• Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Student Loan PayDown
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
• Skills Development & Certifications
• Employee Referral Program
• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
• Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program
• Mobility Stipend

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer-Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.

Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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