Job Description
Job Description
Job Description
Senior Software Developer (Python/Django)
Position Summary
We are seeking a senior full-stack developer to own and modernize shared Python/Django capabilities and serve as the technical escalation point for complex, cross-application work. The role combines hands-on development with architecture, secure identity and database integration, lifecycle upgrades, production troubleshooting, documentation, and mentoring. The developer will collaborate with application teams, DevTools/DevOps, Client CIT, Security, and database administrators across on-premises and AWS environments.
Key Responsibilities
- Application engineering. Design, develop, test, and maintain Python/Django applications, reusable libraries, REST APIs, and supporting JavaScript/HTML/CSS components.
- Python and Django lifecycle upgrades. Lead end-of-life upgrades across the application portfolio: inventory dependencies, assess compatibility, update requirements and internal packages, refactor deprecated APIs, test across environments, coordinate consuming teams, and publish migration and rollback guidance.
- Runtime and package engineering. Build, validate, package, and distribute Python runtimes from source when approved installers are unavailable; verify checksums, test suites, pip/virtual-environment behavior, and compatibility with internal artifact repositories.
- Shared Django platform ownership. Modernize shared Django infrastructure libraries and related packages; deliver Python 3.12+ compatibility, automated tests, versioning, deprecation paths, architecture diagrams, runbooks, and coordinated adoption by dependent applications.
- PIV, SSO, authentication, and authorization. Implement and troubleshoot Client Login/SiteMinder, CAS and django-cas-ng, AWS Cognito, JWT/OAuth2, Django authentication backends, authorization decorators, role and permission mapping, and secure session handling.
- Secure database integration. Connect Django applications to Oracle, PostgreSQL, AWS RDS, and other approved data sources through centralized password-lookup and secrets-management services; support credential rotation, least privilege, and removal of hard-coded secrets.
- Application security. Enforce Content Security Policy (CSP), XSS/CSRF protections, HSTS, secure headers and cookies, dependency remediation, and penetration-test findings; favor external scripts or nonce/hash-based CSP controls over broad unsafe exceptions.
- Complex ticket execution and technical leadership. Work alongside developers to identify and resolve high-risk or cross-system Jira tickets; investigate root causes, design and implement solutions, break ambiguous work into executable tasks, define acceptance criteria, test and deploy changes, collaborate on code reviews, and mentor teammates through complex work.
- Production support and delivery. Diagnose incidents and complex integrations involving deployments, APIs, queues, databases, CI/CD, WAF/security groups, and on-premises/AWS networking; coordinate changes through DEV, INT, QA, and PROD.
- Documentation and knowledge transfer. Maintain concise technical documentation, architecture diagrams, operational runbooks, and package ownership guidance; lead knowledge-sharing sessions.
Initial Priorities and Examples of Complex Work
- Modernize shared Django authentication and data-access libraries. Resolve Python 3.12 compatibility issues and establish a repeatable test, release, deprecation, and application-migration process for future Python/Django versions.
- Trace identity and data-access failures end to end. Follow a PIV login or database-access problem across the browser, Django, CAS/SiteMinder or Cognito, centralized Client services, and Oracle/RDS.
- Resolve security findings without weakening controls. Remediate CSP and XSS issues, coordinate configuration changes, and support security-scan or penetration-test retesting.
- Lead high-impact Jira tickets. Examples include failed deployments or outages, on-premises-to-AWS access, framework/platform upgrades, and performance or duplicate-processing issues in queue-driven workflows.
Required Qualifications
- Education and experience. Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience; 5 or more years of professional software development with substantial Python/Django responsibility.
- Python/Django expertise. Strong knowledge of Python, Django, package and dependency management, pip, virtual environments, automated testing, REST APIs, and shared-library maintenance.
- Upgrade leadership. Demonstrated experience planning and executing major Python or Django upgrades, resolving package incompatibilities, and migrating multiple dependent applications.
- Identity and access management. Hands-on experience with enterprise SSO/federation, PIV or PKI-backed authentication, CAS/SiteMinder or comparable services, AWS Cognito, JWT/OAuth2, and the distinction between authentication and authorization.
- Databases and secrets. Experience with Oracle and/or PostgreSQL, SQL (including PL/SQL or PL/pgSQL), secure application-to-database connectivity, credential brokers, and secrets management.
- Security engineering. Practical experience with CSP, XSS/CSRF prevention, secure headers and cookies, vulnerability remediation, and secure coding and review practices.
- Cloud and delivery tooling. Experience with AWS, Linux and Windows environments, Git/GitLab, CI/CD pipelines, Jira, and structured promotion across development, test, and production environments.
- Leadership and communication. Ability to explain complex systems clearly, write useful technical documentation, coordinate across teams, review code, mentor peers, and make sound decisions with incomplete information.
Preferred Qualifications
- Federal or regulated environment. Experience supporting federal government or similarly regulated systems, ATO and security controls, centralized identity and infrastructure services, and formal change-management processes.
- Full-stack and accessibility. JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML5, CSS3, React and/or Angular, responsive design, and Section 508/WCAG accessibility.
- Platform collaboration. Experience working with DevOps, security, database, and infrastructure teams on cross-environment networking, WAF/security-group rules, secrets rotation, and incident response.
Preference: US citizens, GC holders' (candidates from DMV area with Federal experience).
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