Python/Django Sr. Software Developer

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.

Note: Any experience related to DHHS-NIH (Any ICs) will be an added advantage.

Preference: US citizens, GC holders (candidates from DMV area with Federal experience).

(This is due to requirement for candidate to obtain Public Trust clearance)

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.