Senior Developer - Generative AI Platform and Mission Support

Peraton•Herndon, VA

About The Position

Peraton Labs is seeking a Senior Developer to provide customer development support while also contributing to a broader Generative AI Platform and AI Program Management Office (PMO) initiatives. This role combines hands-on software engineering with mission-oriented delivery, requiring someone who can independently drive feature development, resolve complex technical issues, and help mature a production platform serving critical customer mission needs. This individual will serve as a senior technical contributor on the deployed customer platform — owning significant development responsibilities, mentoring junior team members, and helping ensure that engineering decisions align with both immediate mission requirements and longer-term platform evolution. Additionally, this role will support cross-cutting Generative AI Platform and AI PMO development needs, contributing to shared capabilities, integration efforts, and technical initiatives that benefit the broader AI-enabled product portfolio. The ideal candidate brings strong full-stack or backend development experience, comfort working in cloud-native environments, and the ability to operate effectively across both dedicated product support and broader organizational engineering priorities.

Requirements

Minimum of 8 years of experience with BS/BA; Minimum of 6 years with MS/MA; Minimum of 3 years with PhD
Relevant experience should be in software development, application engineering, platform development, or related technical roles
Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field
Strong proficiency in Python with production development experience; additional experience with JavaScript/TypeScript preferred
Demonstrated experience building and maintaining production software systems, including backend services, APIs, and data-driven applications
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and modern deployment practices
Strong understanding of relational databases (PostgreSQL preferred), SQL, and data modeling
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, version control (Git), and software delivery best practices
Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced environment
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholders
US Citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain Public Trust suitability

Nice To Haves

Prior experience supporting FAA systems, aviation-related platforms, or government mission applications
Hands-on experience with Rust is a plus
Experience with AI/ML integration, LLM-enabled applications, or agentic AI platform development
Familiarity with FastAPI, async Python frameworks, or modern API development patterns
Experience with front-end frameworks (React preferred) and full-stack development
Experience with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), monitoring/observability tooling, or platform engineering practices
Background in supporting multiple concurrent projects or product lines with shared engineering resources
Experience with data pipelines, ETL processes, or analytical data processing
Familiarity with security best practices, RBAC implementation, and compliance-aware development in regulated environments
Experience mentoring developers and contributing to engineering team growth
Exposure to Agile delivery practices, sprint-based development, and cross-functional team collaboration

Responsibilities

Serve as a senior developer on a generative AI platform, owning feature development, bug resolution, performance optimization, and technical debt reduction
Design, build, test, and maintain production-quality software components supporting IRIS platform capabilities and mission requirements
Develop and maintain backend services, APIs, data processing pipelines, and integration points that support operational workflows
Contribute to front-end development as needed to deliver cohesive, user-facing platform features
Provide technical mentorship and code review support to junior and mid-level developers on the team
Support broader Generative AI Platform and AI PMO development initiatives, contributing to shared services, reusable components, and cross-platform integration efforts
Collaborate with product owners, analysts, and mission stakeholders to translate requirements into well-engineered technical solutions
Participate in architecture discussions, technical planning, and engineering tradeoff decisions for both the customer deployment and broader platform needs
Help establish and maintain engineering best practices including code quality standards, testing strategies, CI/CD workflows, and documentation
Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues across the application stack in development and production environments
Support deployment, release management, and operational readiness activities for the customer deployment and related platform capabilities
Document technical designs, implementation decisions, and system behaviors for engineering and stakeholder audiences