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Software Engineer, Backend (Platform)

AI Summary
Valinor is seeking a senior backend platform engineer to build and operate the systems underlying its Streamline product. The role owns backend services, infrastructure foundations, production migrations, performance work, and architectural evolution. Candidates need at least six years of engineering experience and strong expertise in distributed systems, databases, caching, reliability, and scalable production operations. This is a high-ownership position on a small early-stage team serving defense and government technology needs. Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance is required.
Remote from
USA
Salary
Undisclosed
Employment
Full Time
Experience
Senior
Published
Apply before
13 Dec 2026
Listing views
46
Application actions
4
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Opportunity details

About this role.

Valinor is a new type of defense and government tech company focused on solving the problems others don’t. Our unique model of centralized go-to-market and decentralized engineering allows us to move with unparalleled efficiency to identify unmet needs, build right-sized solutions, and get products where they matter most – in the hands of users. Unlike others in the space, who focus on the flashy problems, Valinor exists to solve the quiet, unaddressed problems-the small but significant ones that lead to cracks in the country’s strength, stability, and security.

Backed by General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and Friends & Family Capital, Valinor was founded in 2024 and has established strategic partnerships with Palantir, Anduril, and Helsing. We are building the dream team, and we want you on it.

About The Role

Valinor Streamline is looking for an experienced Software Engineer to help build and evolve the backend systems and foundational infrastructure behind our growing platform. You’ll join a small, highly collaborative team with significant ownership over the technical foundation of the product and the decisions that shape it as we grow.

We’re looking for someone who has built software that real customers depend on and understands what it takes to improve and scale those systems while keeping them running. This role is ideal for a strong backend engineer who enjoys solving complex technical problems, isn’t afraid to get into the weeds with infrastructure, and is excited to help shape a product at an early stage.

What You’ll Do

  • Design, build, and maintain the backend services and foundational platform components that power Streamline’s products and enable other engineers to ship high quality software.

  • Own and execute complex migrations and architectural improvements to production systems while maintaining reliability and minimizing disruption to customers.

  • Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks across backend systems, improving how data is accessed, processed, and delivered as the platform scales.

  • Own technical problems end-to-end, from architectural design and implementation through deployment, monitoring, and ongoing optimization.

  • Work closely with a small engineering team to make pragmatic technical decisions, balance immediate product needs with long-term scalability, and help shape the technical direction of the platform.

What We’re Looking For

  • 6+ years of software engineering experience, with a strong foundation in backend development and a track record of building and operating production systems.

  • Deep understanding of backend architecture, distributed systems, databases, caching, and performance optimization.

  • Experience evolving complex production systems, including executing migrations and making architectural changes without compromising reliability or availability.

  • Experience working in engineering environments where scalability, performance, and reliability are critical, ideally at a growing startup or established technology company.

  • Strong programming skills and comfort working across backend services and infrastructure

  • Strong technical judgment and the ability to navigate complex codebases, design thoughtful abstractions, and evaluate tradeoffs between simplicity, performance, and maintainability.

  • A builder’s mentality, intellectual curiosity, and comfort taking ownership in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment. Experience founding a company, building independent projects, or working at an early-stage startup is a plus.

What Valinor Offers

  • Competitive salary, equity packages, and benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance – fully covered for employees, 401(k), development stipends, among others.

  • Unlimited PTO and two-week company holiday at the end of every calendar year.

  • We are a pro-mental health and pro-family company – we actually encourage employees to spend time with themselves and their families. Valinor also provides fertility benefits to those just beginning that journey.

  • Fun work environment – we like to laugh and take care of each other, but we also deeply respect the mission in front of us.

This role requires the candidate be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. Active clearance preferred, but not required.

Valinor is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. The Valinor team is made up of incredibly talented and unique individuals, who together are disrupting industry norms by creating new paths towards the future of defense and government technology. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. We actively encourage members of recognized minorities, women, Veterans, and those with disabilities to apply, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process. If you are someone passionate about working on problems that have a real-world impact, we’d love to hear from you!

Apply now >

This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content.

Role DNA

A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.

Job Complexity

5/5
EasyHard

Pace & Pressure

5/5
RelaxedFast-paced

Autonomy Level

5/5
GuidedFull ownership

Communication Load

4/5
IndependentCollaborative
AI insightThe position requires deep production backend expertise, complex migrations, and sound architectural judgment under reliability and scaling constraints. A small startup team and end-to-end ownership further increase the technical and operational demands.

Salary analysis

Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.

Estimated job median (per year)Market rate
$210,000
US market range (per year)$180k–$250k
AI insightThe yearly pay period is inferred from the job context; it was not explicitly stated by the employer. No employer pay range is disclosed. The yearly cadence is inferred from this full-time senior U.S. software engineering role. Estimated annual compensation reflects a senior backend/platform engineering market range; equity and benefits are excluded from the estimate.

Core skills

Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.

Sample interview questions
Describe a complex production migration you led while maintaining service availability.

I would explain the system constraints, define rollback and observability plans, introduce backward-compatible changes, migrate traffic or data incrementally, and validate success through measurable reliability and performance metrics.

How do you identify and address a backend performance bottleneck?

I start with telemetry to locate the limiting resource, such as database latency, CPU, network calls, or cache behavior. I then test targeted improvements, measure their impact under representative load, and deploy safely with monitoring and rollback controls.

How do you balance short-term product delivery with long-term platform design?

I clarify the immediate user outcome and expected scale, then choose the simplest design that preserves clear extension points. I document tradeoffs and prioritize foundational work when deferring it would create material reliability, security, or velocity risks.

What practices do you use to make distributed systems reliable?

I design for partial failure with timeouts, retries, idempotency, circuit breaking, durable messaging where appropriate, and strong observability. I also define service-level objectives and use incident learning to improve operational resilience.

How would you contribute effectively on a small, early-stage engineering team?

I would take end-to-end responsibility, communicate tradeoffs early, and make pragmatic decisions with incomplete information. I would also raise engineering standards through reviews, documentation, operational discipline, and close collaboration with product stakeholders.

This analysis is generated from the job description. Salary estimates, role characteristics and sample answers are guidance, not employer-provided facts.
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