FlightAware - Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Onsite)

Date Posted:

2025-03-19

Country:

United States of America

Location:

HTX37: FlightAware HQ Eleven Greenway Plaza, Suite 2900, Houston, TX, 77046 USA

Position Role Type:

Onsite

Are you interested in engineering backend software for numerous web-based products that generate billions of views for industry partners and consumers?

FlightAware has built the world's leading aviation software platform, processing over 180+ million incoming messages an hour from over 34,000 individual data feeds—5 terabytes a day and growing! We provide the best, most complete, and most accurate real-time flight-tracking service and are proud to have built a wide variety of successful products on this foundation that have become central to the aviation industry at large.

FlightAware's Backend crew builds state-of-the-art systems that power the FlightAware website and mobile apps used by millions of people. The Backend crew develops and maintains the many data feeds that track aircraft, airport, gates, and more. These systems lead to a single source of truth for each flight, dispatched to the maps you see on our website or the alerts you receive when an aircraft is delayed. All of the communication about a flight that starts days before its departure all the way through its ultimate arrival are coordinated by the Backend systems.

As a FlightAware senior software engineer, you’ll be part of a highly collaborative, ambitious, and future-reaching organization. We attract engineers with a passion for aviation and data. Our team champions intellectual curiosity, openness, and industry-leading technical innovation. We invest in building excellent internal tooling and engineering support in order to create a productive and highly effective team that anticipates the future and leads by example. You’ll get to learn alongside talented senior engineers and share your own expertise.

Regardless of role, we expect excellent interpersonal and communication skills across all hires at FlightAware. We look for candidates who will thrive here, meaning they demonstrate clear communication, embrace open feedback, trust their colleagues, and are driven to execute, deliver, and complete projects independently and efficiently.

Learn more about FlightAware’s interview process here.

What YOU will do:

• YOU will build new features from scratch and bring them all the way to production.
• YOU will build and scale out FlightAware’s backend infrastructure that encompasses our streaming data feeds, databases, queueing systems, compute infrastructure, and analysis engines.
• YOU will act as a technical leader embedded in our delivery crews, making architectural decisions and collaborating with other engineers to plan and execute on our product goals.
• YOU will work together with teams across FlightAware to deliver cloud native microservices that power our website, mobile apps, data reporting, and more.
• YOU will work with other engineers, product owners, and senior leadership to transform our product and technical vision into a tangible roadmap every quarter.
• YOU will mentor junior members of the team, review pull requests, provide feedback on technical proposals, and support engineers in deepening their skills and experience.
• YOU will write high-quality, well-tested code to meet the needs of your customers—some of the largest airlines and airports in the world.

What YOU will learn:

• YOU will develop your technical acumen by working with cutting edge, in-demand technologies including Go, Rust, Next.js, Kubernetes, and more.
• YOU will learn and apply cloud native approaches to developing and delivering software.
• YOU will learn how to effectively plan, organize, and execute technical projects to ensure the successful delivery.
• YOU will improve upon technical and interpersonal skills and develop a broader understanding of different domain areas by working on a diverse team and participating in Hackathons and technical experiments.
• YOU will learn how to navigate and embrace change, overcome challenges, and continuously improve your processes and practices.

Qualifications you must have:

• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years of experience or in absence of a degree, 12 years of relevant experience.
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship now or in the future. RTX will not offer sponsorship for this position.
• Professional experience as a Senior Software Engineer using fullstack languages and technologies such as Go, Rust, Python, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, MySQL or similar.
• A track record of technical leadership, product delivery, and architectural decision making.
• Experience with cloud technologies and platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Kubernetes.

Qualifications We Prefer:

• Experience with large-scale SaaS system design, data management, and microservice integration.
• Knowledge of cloud native tools like Flux, Open Telemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, Terraform, or similar.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices and secure software design.
• Integration experience with advertising networks, billing, or accounting systems.
• Experience with microservice design and interaction including service meshes, API contracts, and graphql.
• An agile mindset with a focus on learning, rapid iteration, and an openness to new approaches.
• You are a private pilot, you are looking to pursue your private pilot license, or have a passion for aviation.

The salary range for this role is 101,000 USD - 203,000 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.

Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.

This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.

RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

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