Principal Software Engineer

Leidos•Bethesda, MD

3d•$131,300 - $237,350•Hybrid

About The Position

Leidos has an exciting opening for a TS/SCI cleared Principal Software Engineer supporting a long-term DIA-NDOC DOMEX Technology Platform (DTP) contract. The role involves working closely with Systems Engineers, Software Engineers, Architects, and Operations Engineering/Manager on a broad scope of activities extending across the development of systems, including middle-tier and backend engineering tasks. This is a mission-focused, solutions-oriented, and adaptive team that values innovation, collaboration, and professional development. The work is primarily conducted on-site at the client location in Bethesda, MD, with a flexible schedule and occasional remote work opportunities, depending on client requirements. The specific focus is on building and maintaining scalable Python microservices that interface with Kafka for real-time messaging and Elasticsearch for data indexing and search. Services will be deployed and monitored in a Kubernetes environment, with collaboration across cross-functional teams to design reliable, observable, and secure systems. The client's overall mission is to design and implement a data-centric architecture leveraging cloud-based computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and cross-domain transfer systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree and 12 or more years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 10 or more years of prior relevant experience. Experience can be considered in lieu of a degree.
Must possess an Active Top Secret/SCI clearance and ability to obtain and maintain a Polygraph
Proficiency in Python and related backend frameworks (e.g., FastAPI, Flask).
Experience with containerization, especially with Docker
Experience in Extraction, Transformation, and Load (ETL)
Hands-on development experience in a Linux environment including bash or bash-like scripting
Strong understanding of RESTful APIs and microservice architecture
Hands-on experience with Kubernetes: deploying, monitoring, and debugging services
Understanding of common design patterns, security practices, and logging/monitoring principles
Familiarity with Git and collaborative workflows (PRs, reviews)
Experience with DevOps practices and tools including Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) tools and practices, especially Gitlab or Jenkins
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Experience with AGILE practices
Enthusiastic with the ability to work well in a team and a self-starter who can work on their own

Nice To Haves

Experience with designing and implementing software development kits
Familiarity DGX (Deep GPU Xceleration)
Active Security+ certification and ability to obtain Privileged User Account (PUA) certification by the Government
Elasticsearch certifications or other program stack related certifications
Experience of a production/enterprise systems at scale
Knowledge of distributed systems concepts (e.g., idempotency, eventual consistency)
Familiarity with schema registries and Kafka streaming patterns
Experience blending analytical methodologies and leveraging existing COTS/GOTS/OS tools in an unconventional manner.
Experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS/C2S)
Familiarity or experience with building applications around Large Language Models, Agentic AI

Responsibilities

Design, develop, test, and maintain Python microservices
Implement message consumers and producers with Apache Kafka
Integrate with Elasticsearch for real-time and batch data indexing and querying
Write unit and integration tests; ensure high code coverage and reliability
Build CI/CD pipelines for your services and deploy them in Kubernetes clusters
Participate in design discussions, code reviews, and architecture planning
Monitor and troubleshoot production issues with observability tools
Contribute to technical documentation and knowledge sharing within the team
Utilizes software engineering and design methodologies appropriate to the development, integration, and production environment
Foster an environment of collaboration with the different team members in the goal of providing quality service and product to our customers