Software Engineer - Backend

Role Summary

AI71 is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to build the production-grade application architecture for EDGE Group’s AI transformation. You will be the architect behind the "nervous system" of our AI agents, designing the secure API gateways and orchestration layers that allow Large Language Models (LLMs) to interact with industrial ERPs and sensitive engineering data.

You will act as the technical anchor for "Workstream 2: Build" across our flagship programs. Your mandate is to move beyond simple model serving to build robust, on-premise microservices that power the LeverEDGE engineering platform and iAI autonomous agents. Working within a structured "Stage Gate" delivery model, you will ensure our software meets the strict security and reliability standards required for national defense infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Agent Orchestration & System Architecture

• Agentic Frameworks: Architect the orchestration layer (Agent of Agents) that coordinates specialized AI workers (e.g., Controllership Agent, Treasury Agent), managing state, task routing, and error handling.

• Workflow Logic: Design the "Task Router & Intent Classifier" services that map user prompts to specific skills/playbooks, ensuring deterministic execution of critical financial and engineering workflows.

• Microservices Design: Build scalable, containerized microservices that handle high-concurrency requests for the LeverEDGE platform, ensuring low-latency responses for real-time market intelligence and design trade-off analysis.

• Enterprise Integration & API Gateways

• Secure SAP Connectivity: Build the "Data Access Layer" (DAL) that serves as the secure gateway for AI agents to read/write to SAP S/4HANA and Ariba, enforcing strict validation logic before any transaction is committed.

• Scalable Data Lakehouse connectivity: Build a scalable, secure, observable connection layer to the central data platform ensuring all read transactions are authenticated, authorized, and properly audited.

• RAG Integration: Develop the backend logic to interface with Vector Databases (e.g., Weaviate) and Retrieval Models, enabling the "Knowledge Mining Chatbot" to securely query historical proposals and technical documents.

• External API Managers: Construct robust connectors for external data feeds (e.g., S&P Global, Orbis) to power the Supply Chain Risk Scoring engines or LeverEDGE component comparative analysis, handling rate limiting, caching, and data normalization.

• Security, Performance & Deployment

• Defense-Grade Security: Implement "Gateway & Policy Guard" services that enforce Authentication, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), and PII/ITAR redaction before data ever reaches an LLM.

• On-Premise Optimization: Engineer systems for strictly air-gapped or on-premise deployment, optimizing for efficient resource usage on local GPU clusters rather than infinite cloud scaling.

• Reliability Engineering: Implement comprehensive logging, tracing, monitoring, and observability mechanisms adhering to EDGE policies ensuring enterprise best practices are followed

Technical Requirements

• Core Languages: Expert proficiency in Python (FastAPI/Django) for AI integration and Go or Java for high-performance microservices.

• Containerization & Orchestration: Deep experience with Docker and Kubernetes (k8s) for deploying scalable applications in on-premise environments.

• API Architecture: Strong background in designing RESTful APIs and gRPC services. Experience building API Gateways (e.g., Kong, NGINX) for traffic management and security.

• Database Management: Proficiency with Relational Databases (PostgreSQL) for transactional data and Vector Databases (Weaviate, Milvus) for semantic search applications.

• Integration Protocols: Familiarity with enterprise integration patterns and ERP protocols (OData, SOAP) is a strong plus.

Professional Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in Backend Engineering, with a focus on building distributed systems or platforms that serve ML/AI models in production.

• Structured Delivery: Ability to thrive in a "Governance Collision" environment—delivering Agile software (Sprints, MVPs) that passes rigorous "Stage Gate" reviews and Systems Engineering audits.

• Operational Mindset: Experience building systems that require high availability and auditability, preferably in Fintech, Healthcare, or Defense sectors.

• Collaboration: Proven track record of working with Data Scientists to productize models and Frontend Engineers to deliver seamless user experiences.

Why This Role?

You are not just building APIs; you are building the "hands" that allow AI to do real work. Your code will enable AI agents to autonomously draft defense contracts, forecast critical supply shortages, and validate the safety of engineering designs. If you want to build the secure, high-performance architecture that makes AI tangible, join AI71.