Software Engineer

About this role

Join Our Talented Team at Protagonist We fuse rigorous, methodologically sound analysis with our cutting-edge technology platform, Narrative Analytics®. This powerful combination enables us to quantitatively analyze open-source media, deliver strategic recommendations, and craft executive-level communication strategies for clients with missions that matter.

Why Us? Our team is a vibrant mix of communication specialists, data scientists, and subject matter experts with extensive experience across U.S. Government agencies, non-profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies. By joining Protagonist, you’ll immerse yourself in a collaborative environment where innovation thrives, and your contributions truly matter.

What We Do

Innovative Solutions: We co-develop cutting-edge solutions with our clients to address tough communication problems and capitalize on opportunities to make a tangible impact.

Data-Driven Insights: Our tools and methodologies provide actionable insights that help clients meet their communication objectives and stay ahead of global challenges.

Applied Expertise: We integrate our solutions within client organizations, leveraging our profound expertise to address critical issues and ensure sustainable success.

Be Part of Something Bigger At Protagonist, you’ll work on compelling projects that make a real difference. We seek talented individuals eager to contribute to our mission and grow alongside us. If you’re passionate about communication, data analysis, and making an impact, we invite you to explore a career with Protagonist.

Explore Your Future with Us! Ready to take the next step in your career? Join us at Protagonist and be part of a team that's making a difference.

Job Description

We're seeking a talented Software Engineer to join our Washington, DC-based team. In this role, you’ll collaborate with data scientists, analysts, and engineers to build, optimize, and scale our Narrative Analytics® platform, which helps clients make informed, strategic decisions.

Responsibilities

Build and Scale

Contribute to the development of core features of our Narrative Analytics® platform using Python, React, and related tools

Build robust backend services and APIs, and implement frontend functionality as needed

Help design, build, and scale infrastructure components on AWS

Work with Kubernetes and containerized workloads to support microservice deployments

Integrate data processing pipelines and support analytics features such as NLP and search

Collaborate and Grow

Collaborate with senior engineers and data scientists to bring research prototypes into production

Participate in code reviews and uphold high standards of software quality

Work closely with senior team members to learn architectural design and system tradeoffs

Contribute to technical discussions and engineering planning processes

Participate in Agile development cycles, sprint planning, and standups

Seek and incorporate feedback from peers and mentors to grow your technical skill set

Requirements

Must meet applicable U.S. Government contract eligibility requirements, including any citizenship or security clearance requirements associated with assigned work

Must be eligible to obtain a US Government security clearance

BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

3+ years of experience in professional software engineering roles

Strong experience with Python in production environments

Experience building modern web applications (React, TypeScript preferred)

Familiarity with cloud environments, particularly AWS

Experience with PostgreSQL or similar relational databases

Passion for writing clean, maintainable code and learning from peers

Ideal Candidates

Experience with Elasticsearch or similar analytics/search engines

Exposure to machine learning and NLP concepts or pipelines

Familiarity with Agile/Scrum development processes

Interest in working with large-scale data and distributed systems

Location & Work Arrangement This position is based in our Washington, DC office with a hybrid work arrangement. We value in-person collaboration and team building, so we expect regular office presence, while offering flexibility for remote work. Our collaborative environment thrives when we can work together in person, particularly for technical discussions, and architectural planning.

Join Us If you’re passionate about technology and making an impact, apply today! Protagonist is dedicated to fostering a welcoming and innovative environment where everyone’s voice can make a difference.

Protagonist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Salary Range: $85,000 - $111,000 based on education and level of relevant experience.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.