Lead Software Engineer, Back End (Java/ Python/ Go Backend, REST/ GraphQL APIs, WAF, HTTP Protocol, AWS)

{ "jobLocation" : { "@type" : "Place", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "United States of America", "addressLocality" : "McLean, VA" } }, "hiringOrganization" : { "name" : "", "@type" : "Organization", "sameAs" : "" }, "identifier" : { "name" : "Lead Software Engineer, Back End (Java/ Python/ Go Backend, REST/ GraphQL APIs, WAF, HTTP Protocol, AWS)", "@type" : "PropertyValue", "value" : "R247396" }, "datePosted" : "2026-07-21", "employmentType" : "FULL_TIME", "title" : "Lead Software Engineer, Back End (Java/ Python/ Go Backend, REST/ GraphQL APIs, WAF, HTTP Protocol, AWS)", "description" : "Lead Software Engineer, Back End (Java/ Python/ Go Backend, REST/ GraphQL APIs, WAF, HTTP Protocol, AWS) Do you love building and pioneering at the intersection of security and cloud infrastructure? Do you enjoy solving complex problems in a fast-paced, collaborative, and iterative environment? At Capital One, you'll be part of a team of makers, breakers, doers, and disruptors who protect millions of customers at the edge of our network every day. We are seeking Back End Software Engineers who are passionate about edge security, automation, and leveraging emerging technologies — including AI — to stay ahead of evolving threats. What You'll Do: Design, build, and operate edge network security infrastructure including WAF rule sets, bot protection services, and traffic inspection pipelines that defend Capital One's applications at scale Develop and maintain Python-based automation and tooling that manages WAF policies & infrastructure, bot mitigation configurations, and security event workflows across AWS environments Build and maintain serverless architectures using AWS Lambda, Application Load Balancers, DynamoDB, and related AWS services to power real-time threat detection and response Use AI coding assistants and AI-driven analysis tools to accelerate development, identify patterns in security telemetry, and build smarter, faster protection capabilities Collaborate with security, product, and platform teams to translate threat intelligence and compliance requirements into deployable infrastructure-as-code Participate in on-call rotations and incident response for edge security events, using automation and AI tooling to reduce toil and mean time to resolution Stay current with the WAF, bot protection, and cloud security landscape — experimenting with new capabilities, contributing to internal security communities, and sharing knowledge across engineering teams Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree At least 4 years of professional software engineering experience (Internship experience does not apply) At least 1 year experience with cloud computing (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud) Preferred Qualifications: Master's Degree 7+ years of experience in at least one of the following: Java, Scala, Python, Go, or Node.js 2+ years of experience with AWS, GCP, Azure, or another cloud service 4+ years of experience in open source frameworks 1+ years of people management experience 2+ years of experience in Agile practices Experience leveraging interactive AI tooling to accelerate productivity, utilizing capabilities beyond basic code completion At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization, or offer any immigration related support for this position (i.e. H1B, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, F-1 CPT, J-1, TN, E-2, E-3, L-1 and O-1, or any EADs or other forms of work authorization that require immigration support from an employer). The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked. McLean, VA: $197,300 -