Principal Mission Engineer - Full Stack (Secret Clearance Required)

STR • San Diego, CA

2d • $240,000 - $290,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Mission Engineer (Full Stack) in STR’s Mission Applications Group develops and deploys software for real-world national security objectives in partnership with customers. The role combines full-stack engineering, mission engineering, and technical leadership to deliver reliable, high-impact software for operational use in complex, high-security environments. The engineer leads software teams, manages customer relationships, and ensures products meet high standards for quality, reliability, performance, and usability.

Responsibilities include breaking down use cases and user-defined problems, building minimum viable products, and rapidly evolving them into cohesive applications. The engineer scales existing applications by adding workflows, improving scalability, addressing customer pain points, and integrating independent capabilities into existing solutions. The role also involves developing high-performance and visually appealing frontend features, leading cross-functional teams through system design and deployment, and working with military or Government end-users to translate requirements into software features using product discovery best practices.

The position includes travel to integration sites to deploy, test, and troubleshoot software in secure operational environments. Travel to customer sites is expected to average no more than one week per month. STR offers a flexible hybrid environment; employees may work remotely when work does not require STR or customer facilities.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship.
• Active U.S. security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related technical field and at least 8 years of work experience.
• Experience deploying software for Department of Defense or Intelligence Community missions.
• High sense of ownership and a track record of delivering high-impact work.
• Passion for crafting user-centric interfaces and keen attention to design details.
• Demonstrated strong knowledge of modern technologies such as React, TypeScript, and Python.
• Knowledge of performance-focused tools and techniques for rendering large datasets and building responsive, smooth interfaces.
• Demonstrated ability to adopt new languages, libraries, and technologies.
• Organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Demonstrated effectiveness communicating with technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility.
• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical field.
• Prior U.S. military service with experience in joint planning, large force battle monitoring, and large force debrief practices.

Responsibilities

• Break down use cases and user-defined problems, build MVPs, and rapidly evolve solutions into cohesive applications.
• Scale existing applications by developing workflows, improving scalability, making high-impact improvements, and addressing customer pain points.
• Develop high-performance, visually appealing frontend features that support complex use cases and remain fast, smooth, and intuitive under heavy load.
• Lead cross-functional engineering teams to design, build, and deploy cohesive systems.
• Integrate independent capabilities into existing solutions.
• Collaborate with military or Government end-users and customers to understand requirements and translate them into software features.
• Apply product discovery best practices.
• Travel to integration sites to deploy, test, and triage software in secure operational environments.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal