SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (BACK-END)
LOCATION: CALMSDEN, CIRENCESTER, UK
FULL-TIME, HYBRID: 2 DAYS (MIN) ON-SITE, 3 DAYS REMOTE
THE LAST FRONTIER
The Arctic is a place of extremes: unforgiving, untamed, and undergoing rapid change. A literal defrosting reveals a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity spanning energy, defence, logistics, research, and infrastructure.
ARD was founded on a paradox. The Arctic is both the next great economic frontier and one of the most hostile environments on Earth. Rich in resources and strategically vital, yet bone-chillingly cold, dark for months, and fundamentally inhospitable to humans. This paradox—an explosion of activity in a place that resists human presence—is why we exist.
Our solution is autonomy.
We build systems that operate reliably and intelligently in the Arctic, so that humans don't always have to.
Founded by record-holding pioneers with decades of polar experience, we take calculated risks on hard problems that matter. If you want to build and deploy ground-up technology with real-world impact, at an inflection point in history that won’t reappear, we’d like to talk.
THE ROLE
As a Back-End Software Engineer you’ll work across the stack as we build Auka, our Arctic OS that integrates hardware feeds, varied data sources, and machine learning algorithms. You'll iterate quickly, shipping production code that powers systems operating where connectivity is sparse and failure isn't an option. This is a role for a solid generalist — someone who sees themselves as an enthusiastic dabbler, a jack of all trades, or a tinkerer at heart — content to learn new skills and move across projects as requirements evolve.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Design and implement REST APIs and web microservices
Build and maintain data ingestion pipelines and processing systems
Manage and develop cloud infrastructure
Architect and optimise database systems
Implement telemetry, logging, and monitoring solutions
WHAT WE VALUE
5+ years building production backend systems
Proven experience with cloud platforms (we use AWS)
Intellectual curiosity and rapid learning ability
Pride in reliability and operational quality, not just shipping features
Comfort with ambiguity - we’re a young company and things change frequently
BONUS SKILLS
Security engineering experience
GIS or geospatial data handling
Machine learning or data science background
Time-series data and databases (e.g. InfluxDB, TimescaleDB)
Data workflow orchestration (e.g. Airflow, Dagster)
Ruby on Rails or Python
Kubernetes and Helm Charts
Infrastructure as Code (Pulumi, Terraform)
WHAT WE OFFER
Competitive compensation
Private Health Insurance
Dental & Optician
Equity — meaningful options as an early employee at an early-stage company
Travel to Arctic sites and outposts if needed
Mission-driven culture — focus on impact, not hours logged
Small team, real ownership — what you build matters and ships
