Software Development Engineer

About Thales Cyber Solutions Belgium

At Thales, we develop technologies that help governments, critical infrastructure operators, and organizations protect their most valuable assets. Our cybersecurity and digital engineering teams design and deliver innovative solutions that strengthen cyber resilience, secure information systems, and support mission-critical operations.

As part of our continued growth, we are looking for a Software Development Engineer to join our engineering team in Belgium. This role is ideal for a software professional with strong Python expertise and hands-on experience developing web platforms using Django. You will contribute to the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-quality software solutions while working alongside experienced engineers and cybersecurity specialists on meaningful projects.

Main Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain web applications using Python and Django.
• Build and enhance backend services, APIs, and application components.
• Participate in all phases of the software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering to deployment and support.
• Collaborate with architects, product owners, and development teams to define technical solutions.
• Develop secure, scalable, and maintainable software aligned with engineering best practices.
• Extend and maintain a mature Django-based platform, respecting existing architectural patterns and append-only schema migration practices.
• Design and implement integrations with third-party tools that emit structured reports in varied formats, normalizing their output into a common internal model with correct deduplication semantics.
• Author and maintain unit tests, and where relevant browser-driven end-to-end tests, as part of every feature.
• Create and maintain RESTful APIs and system integrations.
• Apply Software Craftsmanship principles (such as SOLID, TDD, and clean code) to write secure, reusable, and well-documented code.
• Contribute to peer code reviews and software quality improvement initiatives.
• Troubleshoot software defects and resolve technical issues.
• Support deployment activities and collaborate with DevOps teams.
• Participate actively in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Contribute to technical documentation and knowledge-sharing activities.
• Continuously improve technical knowledge and stay informed about emerging technologies and development practices.
• Actively participate in Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices to accelerate the delivery of new features.

Skills, Competencies & Requirements

Required Experience

• 2-3 years of professional experience in software development.
• Strong practical experience with Python programming.
• Proven experience developing backend applications using Django.
• Practical experience with Django REST Framework (DRF) and OpenAPI/schema tooling.
• Familiarity with relational databases such as PostgreSQL or MySQL.
• Experience with Docker and containerized environments.
• Comfortable working in a Linux environment (bash, log inspection, container-level troubleshooting).
• Experience using Git and collaborative development workflows.
• Awareness of static analysis / linting tooling (Ruff, Flake8, or equivalent) and comfort working in a warnings-as-errors development posture.
• Knowledge of software testing principles and development best practices.
• Experience working within Agile/Scrum environments.

Preferred Experience

• Familiarity with asynchronous task frameworks (Celery) and broker technologies (Redis / Valkey).
• Familiarity with enterprise SSO integration (OAuth2 / OIDC / SAML).
• Familiarity with browser-driven end-to-end testing (Selenium, Playwright, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with legacy frontend stacks (jQuery, Bootstrap, server-rendered templates) for maintaining and modernizing existing UIs.
• Vulnerability Management Concepts: Familiarity with CVE/CWE/CVSS, common security scanner output formats (SARIF, XML/JSON reports from SAST/DAST/SCA tools), and finding lifecycle concepts.

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Exposure to Microsoft Azure and/or AWS cloud platforms.
• Understanding of secure development principles and cybersecurity fundamentals.
• Exposure to or strong interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applied to software engineering.

Language Requirements

• Fluent English, both written and spoken.
• Fluent French or Dutch, both written and spoken.
• Knowledge of the third national language is considered an advantage.

Personal Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Effective communication and collaboration abilities.
• Team-oriented mindset with a willingness to share knowledge.
• Ability to work autonomously while contributing to collective objectives.
• Attention to quality, accuracy, and continuous improvement.
• Curiosity and willingness to learn new technologies and methodologies.

Why Join Us?

Joining Thales Cyber Solutions Belgium means contributing to technologies that protect critical infrastructures, sensitive information, and digital ecosystems. You will work on impactful projects alongside highly skilled professionals in cybersecurity, software engineering, and digital innovation.

At Thales, we foster an inclusive and collaborative environment where continuous learning, technical excellence, and professional growth are encouraged. You will have the opportunity to expand your expertise, work with modern technologies, and contribute to solutions that help create a safer and more secure digital world.