Junior Cloud Backend EngineerWhat we are: Fun, fast-paced, client-focused, people-centric, inviting, flexible, and rapidly growing.What we are not: Overly structured, uncompromising, disengaged, or disconnected.
We build large-scale industrial IoT software systems that ingest, process, and analyze data from hundreds of thousands of connected devices. We're looking for a Junior Cloud Backend Engineer to help modernize the heart of our cloud platform—the APIs, telemetry ingestion pipeline, and backend services that power our products. This is a highly hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, modernizing legacy systems, and building reliable, scalable cloud services. You'll work alongside a small team of senior engineers to safely migrate critical production systems from a legacy PHP environment to modern serverless architectures while sharing responsibility for the operational health, reliability, and scalability of our platform.
Technologies We Use: AWS, Serverless Architectures (Lambda, API Gateway), PHP (legacy), Python, Node.js, SQS / Kinesis / MQTT / event-driven systems, PostgreSQL / MySQL / DynamoDB / time-series databases, Terraform, GitHub Actions, Observability and logging platforms, and more.
Company DescriptionWe are a leading provider of wireless, mesh-networked, "Internet of Things" (IoT) sensors for industrial environments. Our cost-effective, plug-and-play products empower plants of all sizes to conduct predictive and preventative maintenance on mission-critical and secondary equipment in order to maximize uptime. Our innovative sensors, machine learning, services, and solutions have been revolutionizing this industry for the past 15 years.
Reports to: Principle Software Architect
Location: Huntsville, AL
Travel: Minimal travel required
Work Authorization: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. **Sponsorship is not available at this time**
Exemption Status: exempt
Job Description
This position will give you the opportunity to
Engineer the core backend platform, including the API tier, telemetry ingestion pipeline, and supporting cloud services
Modernize a legacy PHP application by migrating services incrementally to a serverless architecture using safe, low-risk deployment strategies
Read, understand, and improve existing production systems while ensuring uninterrupted service for customers
Design and build highly reliable APIs, backend services, and scalable data ingestion pipelines
Rebuild sensor-data ingestion using durable, replayable streaming architectures to improve reliability and disaster recovery
Develop characterization tests and leverage record-and-replay validation techniques to ensure migration accuracy before production deployment
Contribute to Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and observability to improve platform reliability and operational excellence
Participate in the team's on-call rotation and troubleshoot production systems you own
Leverage AI-assisted development, testing, and code review to improve engineering productivity and software quality
Partner closely with platform, frontend, AI, and firmware engineering teams to deliver cohesive, scalable solutions
Carry out additional responsibilities as needed to support business objectives
Qualifications & Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience
Foundational knowledge of backend software development through internships, co-ops, coursework, or personal projects
Familiarity with cloud technologies, preferably AWS services such as Lambda, API Gateway, SQS, Kinesis, RDS, or DynamoDB
Ability and willingness to learn, maintain, and help modernize existing PHP applications
Understanding of API design, distributed systems, asynchronous processing, and event-driven architecture concepts
Exposure to data ingestion pipelines, queues, streams, or serverless technologies
Strong software testing mindset with familiarity with unit, integration, or regression testing
Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code and modern CI/CD practices
Experience using AI-assisted software development tools to support coding, testing, or problem-solving
Strong communication, collaboration, and analytical skills
Eagerness to learn new technologies, receive feedback, and contribute within a collaborative
Preferred Qualifications
Internship, co-op, academic, or personal project experience involving IoT, telemetry, or data-intensive applications
Exposure to messaging or streaming technologies such as SQS, Kafka, Kinesis, RabbitMQ, or MQTT
Experience with one or more backend languages, such as Python, Node.js, Go, or PHP
Familiarity with databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, DynamoDB, Redis, or TimescaleDB
Basic understanding of cloud security, data privacy, or compliance frameworks such as SOC 2
Exposure to observability, monitoring, or logging tools
A portfolio, GitHub profile, or examples of relevant academic or personal projects
What Success Looks Like
Legacy APIs and services are successfully migrated to modern serverless architectures with no customer-visible disruption
Data ingestion pipelines operate reliably under heavy production workloads without silent data loss
Production migrations are validated through comprehensive testing before deployment
Systems are observable, well documented, and supported by multiple engineers rather than relying on tribal knowledge
Engineering teams can confidently deploy and operate backend services with speed and reliability
Security, reliability, and compliance are designed into systems from the beginning rather than added later
Culture Fit Requirements
High intellect and strong analytical skills
Innovative and driven to constantly improve
Non-bureaucratic, flexible, and able to thrive in a fast-moving environment
Positive energy and attitude towards people and problem-solving
Demonstrates a balance of humility, strong work ethic, and interpersonal savvy ("Humble, Hungry, and Smart") in approach to teamwork and problem-solving.
A genuine human.
Demonstrates a “Can Do” mentality.
Why Waites?
At Waites, we offer an attractive base salary with a strong history of profit sharing. We are intensely customer-focused, with a culture that encourages hard work, fun, and mutual success. As we continue to grow, there will be many opportunities for professional advancement and development. If you are a talented Cloud Engineer professional looking for an exciting new challenge, please apply!
Learn more about who we are and what we do by checking out our website at www.waites.net.
