Software Engineer - Backend

About Nominal

Nominal is a venture-backed company with offices in Los Angeles, Austin, and New York City. We’re focused on building software and data solutions for organizations that test and validate complex systems—think drones, rocket engines, satellites, and nuclear reactors. Supported by leading investors like General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and more, we’re gaining strong traction in the commercial and government aerospace and defense industrial base, including working directly with the Department of Defense.

Our team includes engineers and operators from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Lockheed Martin, and NASA, all working toward a common goal: making it faster and easier for hardware engineers to push the boundaries of advanced technology safely and efficiently. Our platform helps engineering teams accelerate test data review and analysis, scaling testing campaigns to save time and cut costs.

As a Backend Software Engineer, you will develop and maintain high-performance distributed systems for processing and storing telemetry data. You will also help design scalable storage solutions, optimize system performance, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver effective data solutions.

🚀 About The Role

• Build and maintain distributed systems that process and store telemetry and sensor data.
• Design scalable storage solutions to manage large, real-time datasets.
• Improve system performance and reliability, making sure everything runs smoothly at scale.
• Work with engineers from other parts of the company to support specific customer needs.
• Help set the technical direction of the backend, sharing your experience to guide early career engineers.
• Stay on top of new developments in data engineering and apply what’s useful to improve our platform.
  
  

⚡ Skills That Accelerate Us

• 4+ years building and maintaining distributed systems with a focus on performance and reliability.
• Strong with languages like Java, Go, or Rust, and comfortable writing clean, maintainable code.
• Practical experience with cloud services (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform.
• Understanding of storage solutions—Parquet, Druid, InfluxDB, ClickHouse, TimescaleDB, or similar— and experience with real-time data and telemetry systems.
• Familiarity with technologies like Apache Arrow, Kafka, Spark, or Flink, plus experience with distributed databases.
• Ability to explain your ideas clearly to others, whether they’re technical or non-technical.
  
  

✨ Benefits/Perks

• 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
• 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
• 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
• ✈️ Annual company retreat
  
  

$120,000 - $200,000 a year

This job description is written to capture a range of experience levels from 2 years to 15+ years, which is why you’ll see a wide band listed. Your actual base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on a range of considerations, including job-related knowledge and skills, education, prior experience, and other business needs. The listed salary range represents an estimate for base compensation only. Base salary is just one part of the total rewards package. Eligible employees may also receive highly competitive equity grants in the form of stock options, allowing you to share in the company’s long-term success.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

Nominal is a venture-backed company with offices in Los Angeles, Austin, and New York City. We're focused on building software and data solutions for organizations that test and validate complex systems—think drones, rocket engines, satellites, and nuclear reactors. Supported by leading investors like General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and more, we're gaining strong traction in the commercial and government aerospace and defense industrial base, including working directly with the Department of Defense.