Software Development Engineer II (Back End)

Please read before submitting an application:

• This role is currently only open for referrals and invited applicants. Please do not apply unless you were invited to apply or are a referral. The job listing will be updated if circumstances change and external applicants are welcomed to apply.
• The salary range refers to a potential SDE II or III role. We are looking for an SDE II, but if someone applies who could be an SDE III based on their skills and experience, the role and salary may be adjusted.
• Finally, this role can be local to Philadelphia, local to Rochester, or remote in the Eastern time zone.

Summary/Objective The Software Development Engineer II (Back End) position will be part of Security Risk Advisors’ Software Development Team. Our development style is fast-paced and collaborative. We partner with SRA’s Advisory Services, CyberSOC, and Research & Innovation teams to enhance our information security consulting practice and to build tools that serve our employees and our clients. Engineers in this role will work across SRA’s entire product portfolio, not a single application. You will build and maintain back-end services across SRA products. These Essential Functions, Requirements, and Skills are guidelines. If you are a candidate who does not meet this exact job description but can demonstrate excellent organization, attention to detail, professionalism, flexibility, and self-direction in your professional background, we hope you apply. SRA values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, and veterans to apply. Essential Functions Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Architecture & AI Platform Engineering

• Lead the design and development of asynchronous Python back-end services using FastAPI.
• Architect distributed execution systems that orchestrate AI agents and custom tools running in isolated, remote sandboxed environments.
• Design high-performance data layers, evolving relational database schemas, managing state across distributed workflows, and optimizing complex SQL queries at scale.

Cloud Infrastructure, Quality & Security

• Own the containerization and cloud deployment strategy, building resilient CI/CD pipelines and managing containerized workloads across Azure Container Apps.
• Define and uphold quality engineering standards using pytest, designing testing strategies that account for asynchronous execution, distributed state, and remote sandbox integration.
• Proactively harden platform security, staying ahead of emerging threats in cloud, container, and AI/agentic security to ensure strict sandbox isolation and protect organizational confidentiality.

Technical Leadership & Collaboration

• Act as a technical multiplier within our Agile team - leading system design, driving architectural code reviews, mentoring engineers, and championing AI-assisted development workflows to accelerate delivery without compromising code quality.
• Partner on client-facing security initiatives, lending senior software architecture and application security expertise to technical security assessments for SRA client organizations.

Supervisory Responsibility Not applicable. Work Environment This job operates remotely. This role routinely uses standard office equipment. Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee frequently is required to stand and walk. This is a largely sedentary role. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply and email careers@sra.io with any questions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable disabled individuals to perform the essential functions of this role. Position Type/Expected Hours of Work This is a full-time position and hours of work and days are Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5pm. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand. Travel Not applicable.

Requirements

Required Education and Experience

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong focus on back-end architecture and production Python development.
• Advanced proficiency with FastAPI, Pydantic, asynchronous programming (asyncio), and strict Python type hinting to build reliable, high-throughput APIs and services.
• Proven experience with distributed systems, workflow orchestration, or running untrusted/isolated workloads in remote sandboxed environments.
• Strong database engineering skills, including relational schema design, migrations, and SQL performance tuning at scale.
• Hands-on cloud and container expertise using Docker, CI/CD pipelines, and container orchestration platforms (Azure Container Apps, Kubernetes, or similar).
• Deep experience with pytest and testing complex, asynchronous, and distributed services.
• Strong understanding of application, container, and AI security principles, with the ability to support technical security assessments.
• Demonstrated technical leadership in Agile environments, including system design, mentoring peers, and utilizing AI coding tools to accelerate delivery.

Preferred Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Azure Ecosystem: Specific experience deploying and managing infrastructure within Microsoft Azure, particularly Azure Container Apps (ACA) and Azure DevOps / GitHub Actions.
• AI & Agentic Systems: Hands-on experience building LLM-powered applications, agentic workflows, or secure remote code/tool execution sandboxes (e.g., microVMs, gVisor, isolated containers).[KC1]

Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a complete listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. EEO Statement Security Risk Advisors is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination or harassment of any kind. All employment decisions at SRA are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, disability, marital or family status, veteran status, medical condition, or any similar category protected under federal, state, or local laws.

Benefits

Work with Experts: Robust internal training program, plus Company-paid external training. SRA recognizes the value of professional development for employees. Therefore, we encourage our employees to pursue continuing education and role-specific training. Every SRA employee is eligible to attend one training per year paid for by SRA. Mental Health Services: SRA has partnered with BetterHelp to provide SRA employees with free mental health support. BetterHelp connects individuals with licensed therapists for chat, video, and phone sessions. Medical / Dental / Other (regular full-time employees only)

• Generous medical, dental, and vision benefits at different price points.
• Company-paid disability and life insurance.
• Company 401(k) plan including annual 3% safe harbor contribution.
• Free patient advocacy service that helps find care providers and resolve insurance queries.
• Free financial advising.
• Generous parental leave, sick leave, and vacation policies.
• Possibility to work remotely or with a flexible schedule when needed and approved.
• Company-paid cell phone with discounted accessories.
• 1-2-3 Give Program: 1. SRA will give $1,000 to a charity of your choice. 2. If you give an additional amount (up to $1,000), then 3. SRA will match that amount up to $1,000.
• Other discounted, employee-paid benefits including pet insurance, legal support, and voluntary life insurance.

(Subject to change)