Principal Mission Critical Software Engineer

Draper•Cambridge, MA

1d•$95,000 - $245,000

About The Position

Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with more than 2,000 employees. Its multidisciplinary teams develop solutions for national challenges across areas including military defense, space exploration, and biomedical engineering. The Software Engineer (PMTS) works on mission-oriented projects ranging from fielded battlefield situational-awareness systems to medical applications. The role contributes to multiple projects in an Agile environment, translating customer requirements into functional, scalable software solutions. Engineers participate throughout the project lifecycle, from requirements and design through testing and field deployment. At the principal level, the role includes serving as a subject matter expert, driving solutions to complex problems, leading system architecture design, and leading a medium-sized, multidisciplinary team. Applicants selected for this opportunity must obtain and maintain a government security clearance. A Secret clearance is preferred. The position is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The stated US base salary range is $95,000 to $245,000; compensation depends on location and factors such as skills, experience, and education or training. Draper describes programs supporting work-life balance, including workplace flexibility, employee clubs, health and finance workshops, off-site social events, and discounts to local museums and cultural activities. Draper is committed to an inclusive environment and provides reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or another related field.
At least 10 years of experience in Software Engineering or a related field.
Ability to learn new programming languages and technologies quickly.
Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with multidisciplinary program team members, program leadership, and non-technical personnel.
Ability to work as part of a team in a fast-paced environment while balancing multiple competing tasks and demands.
Strong organization, planning, and time-management skills to achieve program goals.
Ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree.
Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

Independently execute task assignments.
Design algorithms using modern theory and proven techniques while adhering to software best practices.
Analyze designs to demonstrate performance and functionality.
Develop and execute software tests to check compliance with requirements.
Prepare technical data, procedures, reports, drawings, manuals, and other required documentation.
Communicate with customers and stakeholders to establish requirements and describe designs and deliverables.
Independently drive solutions to complex problems, develop requirements, propose ways forward when customer requirements are unclear or incomplete, and adapt to changes in requirements.
Act as a subject matter expert in the relevant discipline.
Identify program- and system-level technical risks and develop and execute mitigation strategies.
Lead system architecture design, delegating tasks and collecting feedback on designs as needed.
Lead a medium-sized team of engineers across multiple disciplines.