Software Engineer – Backend

About Altaz

Altaz is an AI Enablement and Security Compliance firm dedicated to "Elevating Purpose and Accelerating Impact." We specialize in empowering purpose-driven organizations—including non-profits, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses—with the technology they need to stay efficient, competitive, and secure.

At Altaz, we believe that great technology starts with the user. We focus on user experience first, developing appropriate AI and security solutions that directly achieve critical business requirements.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Software Engineer (Backend) with a strong interest in AI and emerging technologies to join our engineering team. You will work closely with the Technical Lead and Architect to design and develop solutions that help Altaz's customers adopt AI effectively and securely.

This is a hands-on, research-oriented role that requires both technical depth and the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams — including software engineers and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Technical Lead and Architect to design and develop backend solutions tailored to Altaz customer needs.
• Conduct hands-on research across different tools, frameworks, and technologies to evaluate options and determine the best fit for specific requirements.
• Work with and integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) such as Llama and other open-source or commercial models into production solutions.
• Develop and maintain APIs and backend services, ensuring reliability, performance, and scalability.
• Work alongside other software engineers throughout the full solution development lifecycle — from design through to deployment.
• Champion the user experience perspective within the engineering team, negotiating and advocating for solutions that align with business stakeholder requirements.
• Stay current with developments in the AI, LLM, and backend engineering landscape to provide informed recommendations.
• Submit weekly timesheets accurately reflecting work completed.

Required Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated backend engineering experience with a strong foundation in software architecture and design patterns.
• Practical understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs) — including open-source models such as Llama — and the ability to build solutions using them.
• Experience or strong proficiency in Python; familiarity with Go is highly preferred.
• Experience designing and developing APIs (RESTful or equivalent).
• Ability to conduct structured technical research and present findings clearly to engineering and non-technical audiences.
• Strong collaborative mindset; comfortable working within a team of engineers on shared codebases and shared goals.
• Ability to act as a liaison between business stakeholders and the engineering team, negotiating requirements and advocating for pragmatic, user-centred solutions.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Go programming language in production environments.
• Familiarity with AI agent frameworks, prompt engineering, or LLM fine-tuning.
• Exposure to cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices.
• Interest in or experience with security compliance frameworks (SOC2, FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI-DSS).