Backend Developer

## Backend Developer

We're looking for a backend engineer who builds reliable, well-structured systems, and cares deeply about getting the details right. This role suits someone who cares about shipping software, enjoys designing data models, building solid APIs, reasoning about how software behaves under real load, and is comfortable working with sensitive data in a regulated environment.

You'll work directly alongside the founding team and our customers. In practice that means the problems you solve are concrete: an investigator's workflow that needs a new endpoint, a query that needs to be fast, a data flow that needs to be correct and auditable.

### What you'll do

• Design and build the backend of a web application for investigators in public safety and intelligence: data models, APIs, and the logic behind them, across both our Python services and the server-side of Next.js
• Work directly with government customers to understand their problems and translate them into working software
• Build software that handles sensitive government data; accuracy and security matter here
• Manage and improve our bare metal infrastructure in the Netherlands; we don't run on cloud
• Make technical decisions that shape the platform for years to come

### What we value

• Simplicity: clear and straightforward solutions matter most
• Bias for action: getting things done and fixing issues immediately
• Positive outlook and energy
• Pragmatic precision: critical focus on data accuracy and analytical results

### Requirements

• A few years of professional backend engineering experience, building and shipping production software
• Strong backend skills: design data models, reason about query performance, and build reliable APIs
• Security-aware by default: think about authentication, authorization, and secure data handling as part of building features
• Experience with, or strong working knowledge of, deploying and managing production software (Linux, CI/CD, containerization)
• Fluent in Dutch and English

### Nice to have

• Comfortable on the client side of Next.js / React
• Experience with information security practices, compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, SOC 2), or working in regulated environments
• Experience with building AI/ML systems or data pipelines
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code, observability, or network security
• Previous startup experience, or experience in intelligence, public safety, or government