About Backend Engineer (Contract) - Cleared Defence AI Programme Contract | Inside IR35 | £(Apply online only) /day | Hybrid / Secure Site | SC/DV Cleared | UK Nationals Only 3-month renewable contract (likely 9-12 months’ work) We’re supporting a fast-moving UK-based AI software company that has secured a significant MOD-backed delivery programme. They are building a mission-critical AI capability to be deployed in a secure, environment and they need backend engineering specialists who thrive in complexity. This is a unique opportunity to build adaptable, containerised backend systems to support real-time inference, transcription pipelines, and natural-language interaction layers, enabling operational decisions in demanding environments. What You’ll Be Doing: • Architecting and implementing secure backend services to support AI deployments in classified settings • Developing transcription ingestion pipelines and real-time insight generation capabilities • Supporting graph and RAG-based inference pipelines using structured and unstructured data • Exposing robust APIs for frontend engineers to deliver interactive dashboards and NLP-driven workflows • Ensuring system portability via containerisation (Kubernetes, Docker) • Collaborating closely with data scientists to integrate self-hosted LLMs and analysis models • Working with platform engineers to optimise performance in hardware-constrained deployments What You’ll Bring: • Expertise in Python and/or Go for backend development in secure, distributed systems • Experience working with Kubernetes, orchestration tools (e.g., Argo), and message buses like Kafka • Practical knowledge of Postgres or similar databases • Proven experience building real-time or batch AI/ML pipelines with strong API design • (Bonus) Exposure to LLMs, vector databases, transcription pipelines, or RAG systems • (Bonus) Prior work in Defence, aerospace, or national security environments Why This Project? This isn’t another generic SaaS deployment. You’ll be building backend systems that enable critical Defence intelligence workflows using leading-edge AI techniques. It's a greenfield challenge within a supportive, cross-functional team and a chance to prove SME-led innovation in the most demanding context. Interested? We’re moving fast. If you're cleared, available in the next 2–3 weeks, and ready for a high-impact contract, get in touch with the nCounter team today Nice-to-have skills • Docker • Go • Kafka • Kubernetes • Python • Barbican, England, United Kingdom Work experience • Backend • Cyber Security Specialist • Software Architect Languages • English