Principal Software Engineer
About The Position
Fantom Corporation is a mission-focused organization supporting critical programs across the defense and intelligence community. We partner with our customers to deliver high-impact technical solutions while fostering a culture built on trust, expertise, and long-term career growth. We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the design and development of scalable, high-performance distributed systems. This role focuses on building cloud-native applications, developing robust service-to-service communication frameworks, and supporting containerized environments at scale. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in Python development, modern distributed system technologies such as gRPC and Protocol Buffers, and extensive experience working within Kubernetes-based environments.
Requirements
- Must be fully cleared with a recent MD polygraph
- Must be willing and able to work fully onsite at the location listed in this posting
- Bachelorâs degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent experience)
- 20+ years of experience in software engineering
- Strong programming experience in Python
- Experience using Protocol Buffers (Proto) and gRPC for distributed systems
- Experience working with Kubernetes (K8s) and container orchestration
- Experience using Helm for application deployment and management
- Experience designing and building distributed systems and microservices architectures
Nice To Haves
- Experience with Java and REST-based service development
- Familiarity with build and automation tools such as Autotools and Docker Buildx
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines using GitLab
- Experience working with databases and messaging systems such as MongoDB, Etcd, Elasticsearch, and RabbitMQ
- Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker
- Experience working in cloud-native environments
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend systems and distributed applications
- Build and optimize services using Python and modern communication frameworks such as gRPC and Protocol Buffers
- Develop and deploy applications within Kubernetes environments using Helm for orchestration and management
- Design and implement service-to-service communication and API architectures
- Support CI/CD pipeline development and automation using GitLab
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define system requirements and deliver technical solutions
- Optimize system performance, scalability, and reliability across distributed environments
- Integrate and manage data services and messaging systems such as MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and RabbitMQ
- Support containerized builds and deployments using Docker and modern build tools
- Participate in system design reviews, troubleshooting, and technical decision-making
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
Number of Employees
1-10 employees
