Senior Python Engineer

As a member of the Sophos Agentic AI team, the Senior Software Engineer II plays a key role in shaping and delivering AI-powered cybersecurity solutions. This role works closely with engineers, architects, product management, and cross-functional stakeholders to drive the team’s vision at scale.

The Senior Software Engineer II contributes as a hands-on developer while also providing broader technical leadership — setting direction for architecture and design, mentoring peers, and influencing multiple projects or services.

An ideal candidate will have a proven track record of building complex, scalable systems and a deep interest in Generative AI and its applications in cybersecurity. Experience with AI agents, or applied LLMs is highly valued, along with the ability to anticipate challenges, drive technical strategy, and solve real-world security problems using cutting-edge technology.

Collaborate with engineering leadership, architects, product management, and cross-functional teams to define technical direction and feature priorities.

Design and implement scalable, cloud-native microservices and REST APIs using Python, FastAPI, and Celery.

Build AI-powered applications as well as the platforms and services that enable their development, deployment, and operation.

Integrate and optimize data systems including Postgres, Redis, and Elasticsearch to support high-performance AI and cybersecurity workloads.

Partner effectively with Product Management, DevOps, QA, and fellow developers to deliver solutions that meet both technical excellence and customer needs.

Take end-to-end ownership of major features or projects from design through deployment and monitoring, working with a high degree of autonomy.

Provide technical mentorship and guidance to less-experienced engineers, helping them grow their skills and deliver high-quality code.

Influence architecture and design decisions across multiple services or projects, ensuring scalability, reliability, and alignment with long-term product strategy.

Stay current with advances in Generative AI, cloud technologies, and cybersecurity, and bring forward ideas to keep the platform at the cutting edge.

Work with Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, event-driven systems, and large-scale data processing to deliver robust, reliable services.

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of professional software development experience, including designing and building scalable microservices and REST APIs.
• Strong Python development skills, with experience in FastAPI or other web frameworks.
• Hands-on experience building and operating cloud-native applications on AWS (EKS, Lambda, S3, Bedrock, etc.).
• Solid understanding of containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Proficiency in SQL and NoSQL databases (Postgres, Redis) and experience integrating search platforms like Elasticsearch.
• Comfort with Unix/Linux environments and modern development workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to own large features or projects end-to-end; from design and implementation to deployment and monitoring, with a strong sense of accountability.
• Proven experience mentoring junior and mid-level engineers, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to shape technical direction at a broader scope — contributing to system architecture, cross-team initiatives, and long-term technology strategy.
• Able to work autonomously while taking initiative to suggest improvements, propose new ideas, and drive features forward with minimal oversight.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot and debug complex distributed systems.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across engineering, product, and research teams.
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and iterative software delivery.
• Familiarity with Agentic Coding tools like claude code, cursor, codex etc

Nice to Have

• Experience integrating and deploying Generative AI or LLM-powered solutions.
• Understanding of AI agent architectures, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and conversational AI systems.
• Exposure to cybersecurity products (XDR, MDR, SIEM, SOAR) or adjacent security technologies.
• A passion for learning and experimenting with emerging AI technologies, and translating them into impactful customer-facing features.