Senior Backend Engineer, Security Controls

About the role

Get to Know Us Horizon3 http://Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find, fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by IT Ops/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs. We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers & operators, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools and false positives, resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox” security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results. What You’ll Do As a Senior Backend Engineer on the Security Controls team, you'll drive the technical vision for EDR telemetry and detection inside NodeZero, with direct influence over how EDR effectiveness and tuning evolves as a core product capability. Modern endpoints are instrumented by CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender, Carbon Black, and others. Our customers need to know, with evidence, which of our attack techniques their EDR caught, which ones slipped through, and why. Answering that at scale — across platforms, tenants, and operator objectives — requires someone who deeply understands the telemetry surface and can turn that understanding into a product. Over time, this role will own the technical work for incorporating AI and ML research into how we reason about detection gaps, generate tuning recommendations, and scale effectiveness insights. Responsibilities - Develop core product features in ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) and GraphQL to support data processing and retrieval. - Design and implement backend APIs in GraphQL to facilitate data interactions between different components of the product. - Build and maintain ETL pipelines for efficient data processing and analytics. - Collaborate with frontend team members to present data in a clear and user-friendly format, enhancing the product's user experience. What You’ll Bring - Ability to own and manage concurrent initiatives, demonstrating effective judgment in prioritization and time management. - Driven, self-managed, capable of conceiving and implementing solutions on your own and with a team - A strong desire to continuously improve and learn new technologies in a fast-paced Agile development environment - Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, effective communication, attention to detail and high-quality work - Strong technical documentation ability to support the development process. - Effective communication and collaboration with designers, developers, and product managers. - Ability and interest in mentoring junior and mid-level engineers to foster their growth and development. Required Education / Experience - Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related field. - 7+ yrs professional software engineering experience using modern object-oriented or functional languages (Python, Java, Go, Scala, C++, TypeScript, etc). - Experience building applications on cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, GCP, using container technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes. - Expert proficiency in SQL. What Sets You Apart - Deep familiarity with at least one major EDR platform (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender) at the telemetry and API level. - Understands detection logic, alert triage workflows, and how SOC teams consume EDR output. - Expert proficiency in SQL and experience with various database architectures including relational (PostgreSQL) and graph (Neo4j). - Experience building GraphQL backends. Travel Required We are a fully remote company, and this job may require up to 5% of travel to be successful. Compensation and Values At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations. In accordance with various State’s transparency regulations, we provide the following salary range information for this position: - $170,000-$235,000. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills. - Additional compensation: All full-time roles are eligible for an equity package in the form of stock options. Perks of Horizon3 http://Horizon3.ai - Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. - Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities. - Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. - Hybrid & Remote Work: We embrace a mix of remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location, including our Chicago office, where some roles require regular in-office presence. - Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity and benefits. Our benefits include health, vision & dental insurance for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave. You Belong Here Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, hair length or any other legally protected status by law. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Application Note In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.