Lead Software Engineer

Location: Herndon, VA
Employment Type: Full-Time / Direct Hire
Work Schedule: 9/80 schedule — employees work 9 days out of every 14 days, with every other Friday off
Security Clearance: Active Secret Clearance Required
Work Authorization: U.S. Citizens and Green Card holders only
Visa Sponsorship: Not Available
Travel: Occasional travel may be required
Relocation: Possible for an ideal candidate

Important: This is a full-time/direct-hire opportunity. 

About the Organization

Our organization operates in the aerospace, aviation, and defense industry, developing advanced software solutions that support mission-critical systems, technology modernization, and next-generation capabilities.

This is an engineering-focused environment where software professionals work on complex products, system modernization initiatives, and mission-critical technology solutions.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to provide technical leadership across multiple software product deliveries, system modernization initiatives, and future growth programs.

The Lead Software Engineer will take ownership of software products and contribute across the complete Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), including requirements analysis, architecture, system design, development, testing, deployment, and sustainment.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in Java, C++, Spring Boot, REST APIs, Linux, Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD, and cloud/hybrid-cloud environments, along with a strong understanding of secure and scalable software development.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across software engineering teams and mentor junior and mid-level engineers.

• Take ownership of software products and drive successful delivery throughout the complete SDLC.

• Lead requirements analysis, architecture, system design, development, testing, deployment, and sustainment activities.

• Design and develop high-quality, scalable, reliable, and maintainable software applications.

• Utilize modern AI-assisted software development tools to improve design, coding, testing, debugging, and delivery.

• Develop and maintain enterprise-scale applications and distributed software systems.

• Apply Agile software development methodologies throughout the development lifecycle.

• Collaborate with architects, systems engineers, product teams, cybersecurity teams, and other cross-functional stakeholders.

• Troubleshoot complex software and system issues and perform detailed root-cause analysis.

• Support software modernization and technology transformation initiatives.

• Establish and maintain engineering best practices related to software quality, security, performance, scalability, and reliability.

• Contribute to CI/CD automation, DevSecOps practices, automated testing, and continuous delivery.

• Support containerized applications and cloud/hybrid-cloud deployments.

• Ensure software solutions meet applicable security and mission-critical engineering requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 9+ years of relevant experience, or a graduate degree with 7+ years of related experience.

• In lieu of a degree, 13+ years of relevant experience may be considered.

• Active Secret Security Clearance is required.

• U.S. Citizen or Green Card holder.

• Strong technical leadership and software engineering ownership mindset.

• Demonstrated experience across the complete Software Development Lifecycle.

• Strong software architecture and system design experience.

• Experience working in Agile development environments.

• Strong communication, collaboration, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Technical Skills

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience.

• Strong hands-on Java and C++ development experience.

• Strong experience with Java Spring Boot and REST APIs.

• Experience developing multi-threaded applications.

• Experience with database design, integration, and application data layers.

• Strong experience working in Linux development environments.

• Experience developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, particularly Jenkins.

• Experience with containerized application development and deployment.

• Hands-on experience with Docker and Kubernetes.

• Kubernetes administration and deployment experience.

• Experience with cloud or hybrid-cloud environments.

• Experience with AWS GovCloud or cloud-native application development.

• Strong understanding of DevSecOps practices.

• Experience with automated software testing frameworks.

• Strong debugging, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis capabilities.

• Cybersecurity-aware software development experience.

• Experience developing distributed systems and enterprise-scale applications.

• Experience with software modernization initiatives.

• Experience in DoD, SATCOM, networking, gateway, telecommunications, aerospace, aviation, or defense environments is highly preferred.

• Experience working with mission-critical or highly secure systems is a plus.

Benefits

Benefits may include:

• Health and disability insurance

• 401(k) match

• Flexible spending accounts

• Employee Assistance Program

• Education assistance

• Parental leave

• Paid time off

• Company-paid holidays

• Potential relocation assistance for an ideal candidate

Important Candidate Requirements

• Active Secret Clearance is mandatory.

• U.S. Citizens and Green Card holders only.

• No visa sponsorship available.

• This is a full-time/direct-hire position — no contract profiles.

• Candidates should have strong hands-on software engineering experience rather than purely managerial experience.

• Strong Java/C++ + Spring Boot + REST + Linux + Kubernetes/Docker experience is highly desirable.