Staff Backend Engineer

Who We Are At Firestorm, we are building the future of expeditionary defense manufacturing and autonomous systems. Modern conflict has exposed a fundamental problem: the systems needed most by operators are often too expensive, too slow to produce, and too difficult to sustain at scale. Firestorm exists to change that. We develop mission-adaptable aerial systems and deployable manufacturing infrastructure designed to put capability directly into the hands of the warfighter. From modular unmanned aircraft to xCell — our deployable microfactory — our goal is to make defense systems rapidly deployable, adaptable, and producible at the point of need. We are looking for builders, operators, and problem-solvers who want to work on meaningful technology with real-world impact. About the Role Firestorm builds uncrewed aircraft and the manufacturing network that produces them: full-capability plants, deployable xCell edge factories, and forward-deployed sites that stand up production near the point of need. Crucible is the software that runs that network. It plans and executes production across factories that don't look alike, using supply that isn't guaranteed to arrive. It runs in the cloud, inside a factory, and air-gapped in classified environments, with consistent behavior across all three. The backend has to represent how production actually works: materials, inventory, res [... source excerpt omitted ...] L and Prisma, but we expect the stack to evolve with the product. What You’ll Do Build Crucible's backend — Design and ship the services, APIs, data models, and workflows behind production planning and execution. Own core system models — Define how Crucible represents production, materials, inventory, resources, work, and operational state. Design for distributed operation — Build systems that behave correctly across cloud, factory, and disconnected deployments, including synchronization, reconciliation, and failure recovery. Build durable integrations — Connect Crucible to PLM, ERP, quality, test, optimization, and other production systems through clear interfaces and ownersh [... source excerpt omitted ...] chnical direction. Raise the engineering bar — Review critical code and designs, improve development practices, and help other engineers solve difficult backend problem Required Qualifications 8+ years building and shipping backend or distributed software in production, with a proven track-record of success U.S. person required due to ITAR regulations Strong backend software engineering fundamentals and demonstrated judgment choosing technologies and system designs appropriate to the problem Strong experience with at least one modern backend language Strong relational data modeling, API design, and distributed systems fundamentals Experience designing systems with complex state