Software Developer

Who This Role Is For
This role is for engineers who've already proven themselves and are ready to own outcomes. In charge of final screening, making hard calls under ambiguity, and scaffolding architecture. This is an individual contributor role: technical direction.

Job Description
Planet Networks is hiring a Software Developer to help drive the Python/Django systems that power our fiber internet business — billing, customer accounts, payments, and service management. You'll work on a small, senior development team, with the scope to shape architecture, mentor early-career engineers, and take the lead on both internal and external systems. This is a hybrid role based in Newton, NJ.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and own significant portions of our backend systems, from design through production
• Lead technical decision-making on new features, integrations, and system improvements
• Mentor and review the work of early-career developers; raise the team's overall code quality bar
• Drive engineering best practices — testing standards, CI/CD, code review discipline
• Own resolution of complex, ambiguous production issues, including in code you didn't write
• Partner directly with leadership on technical roadmap, prioritization, and trade-offs
• Evaluate and integrate third-party APIs and internal system integrations
• Drive database design and query/performance optimization across PostgreSQL and SQL systems
• Model effective use of AI coding tools (Copilot, Claude, Cursor) and help the team implement similar tools

Skills & Qualifications

• 2–7 years of professional software development experience
• Strong command of Python and Django (or a comparable web framework) in a production environment
• Deep working knowledge of SQL and relational databases, PostgreSQL preferred — schema design, query optimization
• Strong understanding of REST API design, integration patterns, and system architecture trade-offs
• Demonstrated ability to independently troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues
• Strong Git workflows and code review discipline
• Comfortable with Docker and Linux environments, including deployment pipelines
• Track record of technical mentorship or informal leadership
• Regular, effective use of AI coding tools to accelerate development without sacrificing quality

Preferred Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with billing or payment systems in production
• Exposure to Celery/RabbitMQ or other background-task/async systems
• PostgreSQL/PostGIS experience
• Microsoft SQL Server experience
• MVC exposure
• React or other frontend framework experience
• Ownership of CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes
• Interest in telecommunications or ISP systems
• Competitive programming, hackathons, or open-source contributions

About Us
Planet Networks is a fiber internet provider headquartered in Newton, NJ, with operations across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, serving 25,000+ subscribers. We're a lean, fast-moving team building the infrastructure and software behind a growing ISP.

All applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, ancestry, physical/mental disability, medical condition, military/veteran status, genetic information, marital status, ethnicity, citizenship or immigration status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. By completing this application, you are seeking to join a team of hardworking professionals dedicated to consistently delivering outstanding service to our customers and contributing to the financial success of the organization, its clients, and its employees. Equal access to programs, services, and employment is available to all qualified persons. Those applicants requiring an accommodation to complete the application and/or interview process should contact a management representative.