Application Platform Technical Lead

$230000 - $250000

Tech Lead – Platform Engineering

An innovative Scientific Data and AI company is seeking a hands-on Tech Lead to own the architecture and continued evolution of its Tetra Apps platform, the application runtime powering its next-generation scientific intelligence operating system. This full-time opportunity focuses on building and operating a secure, scalable, multi-tenant application platform that enables scientists, partners, and internal engineering teams to develop and deploy containerized applications. You'll work across AWS, Docker, ECS, TypeScript, Node.js, React, Python, IAM, and infrastructure-as-code while shaping the platform's architecture, security, application lifecycle, and developer experience.

This is a unique opportunity for a senior-level engineer who wants to operate at the intersection of application development, cloud infrastructure, security, and platform architecture. You'll serve as the technical authority for a business-critical production platform, making key architectural decisions while remaining deeply involved in writing and shipping code. This is not a traditional management role or a greenfield project. You'll inherit a live platform with established customers, real-world challenges, and opportunities to make meaningful improvements.

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including experience serving as a technical lead or architect.
• Experience architecting and operating production platforms that external engineering teams or customers build and deploy applications on.
• Proven experience with multi-tenant application platforms, application hosting/runtime environments, PaaS, plugin or extension systems, or internal developer platforms.
• Deep hands-on experience with Docker, container image pipelines, container provisioning, networking, service discovery, scaling, and lifecycle management.
• Strong production experience with AWS services, including ECS, ALB/NLB, VPC, IAM, KMS, CloudWatch, S3, and Lambda.
• Strong security engineering background, including IAM, least-privilege access, identity propagation, tenant isolation, browser security, and secrets management.
• Experience securing multi-tenant platforms that execute external or untrusted code.
• Expert-level TypeScript and Node.js experience building backend services and APIs.
• Strong React experience, with the ability to contribute to frontend application architecture.
• Working knowledge of Python for SDKs, developer tooling, and automation.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools such as CloudFormation or equivalent technologies.
• Strong API design experience, including REST, OpenAPI, API versioning, and backward compatibility.
• Experience with observability tools and practices, including OpenTelemetry, distributed tracing, metrics, and SLI/SLO development.
• Experience leading technical design reviews, writing architecture documentation and RFCs, and developing migration plans.
• Experience owning sprint and quarterly planning, estimating work, managing technical priorities, and holding engineering teams accountable for delivery.
• Proven ability to maintain, troubleshoot, and improve complex live production systems without disrupting existing customers.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage AI-assisted software development tools while maintaining code quality, security, and architectural integrity.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience with module federation, micro-frontends, or application shell architectures.
• Familiarity with artifact registries, package management, publishing, versioning, and deployment promotion.
• Experience operating applications in both multi-tenant cloud-hosted and single-tenant customer-hosted environments.
• Experience in regulated or validated environments, including GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, or SOC 2.
• Experience building developer platforms, SDKs, CLI tools, templates, and application development frameworks.
• Experience with TypeScript and Python SDK development.
• Background in scientific software, life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or laboratory technology environments.
• Experience with CI/CD automation, infrastructure provisioning, and production deployment strategies.
• Familiarity with AI agents and platforms that execute externally developed or generated code.

What You Will Be Doing Tech Breakdown

• AWS Cloud Infrastructure: ECS, ALB/NLB, VPC, IAM, KMS, CloudWatch, S3, Lambda
• Containerization: Docker, Container Provisioning & Lifecycle Management
• Backend Development: TypeScript, Node.js, REST APIs, OpenAPI
• Frontend Development: React, Module Federation, Micro-Frontends
• Developer Tooling: TypeScript SDKs, Python SDKs, CLI Tools
• Infrastructure-as-Code: CloudFormation, CI/CD Automation
• Security: IAM, Least Privilege, Tenant Isolation, Secrets Management
• Observability: OpenTelemetry, Distributed Tracing, Metrics, SLI/SLOs
• AI-Assisted Software Development & Automation

Daily Responsibilities

• Own the technical architecture and evolution of the Tetra Apps platform, including application packaging, provisioning, routing, authentication, isolation, monitoring, upgrades, and retirement.
• Design and improve the application runtime, including proxy and routing layers, container provisioning, and application lifecycle management using AWS ECS.
• Architect identity and authorization models for individual applications, including service accounts, IAM roles, and database credentials.
• Build reliable installation, upgrade, and rollback processes that support both multi-tenant cloud and customer-hosted environments.
• Integrate security throughout the platform, ensuring appropriate tenant isolation, delegated authorization, secrets management, and browser security.
• Threat-model the platform to address risks associated with executing externally developed code and AI agents.
• Establish production readiness standards, including monitoring, metrics, distributed tracing, alerting, incident response, and capacity planning.
• Partner with DevOps and security teams on infrastructure-as-code, deployment automation, and multi-tenant infrastructure.
• Own the developer experience by improving application templates, SDKs, CLI tools, local development workflows, and documentation.
• Lead sprint and quarterly planning in partnership with the Product Manager, including prioritization, estimation, sequencing, and delivery commitments.
• Balance new feature development with platform maintenance, technical debt reduction, and long-term architectural improvements.
• Serve as the technical design authority by leading architecture reviews, writing RFCs, documenting technical decisions, and guiding engineering best practices.
• Remain hands-on by designing and shipping code across TypeScript/Node.js services, React applications, AWS infrastructure, Python tooling, and CI/CD automation.
• Work directly with field engineers and customers to troubleshoot application deployments and turn real-world feedback into platform improvements.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, technical guidance, and collaborative problem-solving.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the US on a full-time basis now and in the future.

Motion Recruitment Partners (MRP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants must be currently authorized to work on a full-time basis in the country for which they are applying, and no sponsorship is currently available. Employment is subject to the successful completion of a pre-employment screening. Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required under MRP’s Employment Accommodation policy. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.