Senior Full-Stack Engineer

Paradigm is a mission-driven startup building a next-generation, AI-native case management system for criminal prosecutors. Our goal is to enhance prosecutorial effectiveness, promote fairness, and strengthen public safety by leveraging technology to improve case workflows and human decision-making.

We are a tech-first company that combines AI, data engineering, and full-stack web development with a deep understanding of the real-world challenges of criminal justice and public safety. Our founding team includes experts in legal technology, prosecution, and justice system transformation.

With funding and pilot jurisdictions secured, we are building out our engineering team to shape a scalable, secure, and ethical platform that drives meaningful impact in the criminal justice system. Our team will develop the platform alongside real-world users to ensure it meets the practical, everyday needs of prosecutors.

Paradigm is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from historically underrepresented communities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and individuals from nontraditional tech backgrounds. If you don’t meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway!

Paradigm is hiring a Senior Full-Stack Engineer to co-lead core product development, drive technical decision-making, and help shape our engineering culture. This is a foundational role in our early-stage startup, meaning you will work across the stack, contribute to architecture decisions, and help scale our infrastructure securely and efficiently. Responsibilities include:

• Development: Design, build, test, and optimize our Next.js frontend and Django REST API backend.

• Architecture: Work with the CTO & DevSecOps contractor to design scalable, CJIS-compliant infrastructure and secure deployment processes.

• Collaboration: Work closely with data engineers, AI specialists, product owners, and legal experts to ensure our product meets the real-world needs of modern prosecutors.

• Influence: Help define company culture, inform business and product decisions, and champion engineering best practices as we scale.

We are looking for a highly skilled, mission-driven engineering leader who is eager to build impactful technology in a collaborative, fast-moving environment.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in full-stack web development, with a strong foundation in both backend and frontend technologies.

• Expertise in Python (Django), JavaScript/TypeScript (React, Next.js), and SQL (PostgreSQL preferred)

• Deep understanding of REST API development, including authentication (OAuth, JWT), security best practices, and performance optimization.

• Hands-on experience with containerized deployments, including Docker, CI/CD testing and automation, and deployment pipelines.

• Strong problem-solving skills, with a focus on scalability, maintainability, and security in production environments.

• Commitment to writing clean, well-tested code that adheres to engineering best practices and software design principles.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Experience leading Agile/Scrum teams, including sprint planning, backlog grooming, and fostering a collaborative engineering culture.

• Proficiency in cloud infrastructure, particularly AWS services (S3, Lambda, ECS, RDS), with experience in infrastructure-as-code (Terraform preferred).

• Expertise in securing AWS-hosted applications, including IAM policies, encryption (KMS), and working within compliance-heavy environments (CJIS, FedRAMP, SOC 2, HIPAA).

• Familiarity with government software, criminal justice systems, or legal technology, particularly in data governance and security regulations.

• Experience integrating machine learning models or NLP into web applications, enabling AI-driven insights and predictive analytics at scale.

At Paradigm we have built the kind of company we all always wanted to work for.  As an early hire, in addition to annual salary, you will have an equity stake in the company that offers tremendous upside.  Paradigm offers unlimited PTO and sick leave, a summer and winter holiday, along with a policy of maintaining only a single scheduled call on Fridays – we strongly value independence and work/life balance. 

• Salary: $125k-$160k, commensurate with experience and equity grant

• Equity: Company stock options, commensurate with experience and salary

• Retirement: 401(k) plan with employer contribution

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage 

• Unlimited Sick Leave/Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Summer Holiday, Winter Holiday, Call-Free Fridays