Senior Principal Software Engineer - DevOps / Infrastructure (Onsite)

RTX•Sterling, VA

4d•$145,600 - $276,800•Onsite

About The Position

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is seeking a Senior Principal Software Engineer to join its Strategic Defense Solutions portfolio in Sterling, Virginia. The role focuses on designing and developing integrated simulation and training solutions that prepare customers for critical missions. The engineer will provide technical leadership and architectural direction for infrastructure software systems, lead automation efforts, and own the reliability and performance of the CI/CD pipeline for the mission simulation environment. The position is primarily onsite in a classified lab environment, and occasional travel is required. An active, transferable U.S. government Secret clearance is required before the start date; the position is restricted to sole U.S. citizens.

Requirements

Typically, a STEM degree and at least 10 years of relevant experience, or an advanced degree in a related field and at least 7 years of experience.
An active and transferable U.S. government-issued Secret security clearance before the start date.
Sole U.S. citizenship; dual citizenship is not permitted.
Ability to work primarily onsite in a classified lab environment; occasional travel is required.

Nice To Haves

Experience architecting and providing technical guidance for CI/CD pipelines across multiple teams or environments.
Experience diagnosing complex system issues and proposing effective solutions.
Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and influence technical direction across stakeholders.
Experience building strong working relationships with engineering and program leadership.
Experience with GitLab, Jira, Confluence, Coverity, Nexus or Artifactory, and Splunk.
Experience with infrastructure automation frameworks such as Ansible, Terraform, or Puppet.
Experience with server-side scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or PowerShell.
Experience managing and troubleshooting virtualized environments such as VMware or Proxmox.
Experience implementing continuous integration workflows for real-time testing and diagnostics within virtualized environments.
Experience applying networking concepts such as TCP/IP and VLANs within complex virtual environments.
Experience designing and integrating applications across IaaS/PaaS and cloud platforms such as OpenShift, VMware, OpenStack, AWS, Azure, or GCP, and knowledge of cloud-native architecture patterns.
Strong understanding of cloud and virtual networking architectures, including L2/L3 and spine-leaf.
Background in Agile methodologies such as Scrum or SAFe.
Experience with cloud-native engineering, including Docker or Podman, Kubernetes, microservices, and RESTful API integration.
Experience with SQL/NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or MonetDB, and structured data formats such as JSON, XML, YAML, or XSD.
Proficiency in Linux and Windows environments.
Experience evaluating and modernizing legacy systems for cloud or virtualized environments.
Proficiency with modern development toolchains and IDEs such as Visual Studio or VS Code.
Relevant security certifications such as Security+ or CISSP, or networking certifications such as CCNA or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and architectural direction for infrastructure software systems, including their design, implementation, and long-term evolution.
Lead and develop automation capabilities to improve reliability, repeatability, and velocity across team workflows.
Own the reliability and performance of the CI/CD pipeline for the mission simulation environment, diagnosing systemic build-chain issues and implementing durable improvements.
Set strategy for automating manual processes, including prioritizing automation, establishing test-automation approaches, and integrating them into the CI/CD pipeline.
Evaluate CI/CD systems holistically to ensure changes support team workflows, scalability, and long-term architectural goals.
Mentor and influence engineers across teams, shape engineering practices, resolve complex technical challenges, and promote modern infrastructure approaches.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees.
401(k) plan with employer matching and a separate employer retirement contribution.
Tuition reimbursement program.
Student Loan Repayment Program.
Life insurance and disability coverage.
Optional pet, home, auto, additional life and accident, critical illness, group legal, and identity theft protection coverage.
Birth, adoption, and parental leave benefits.
Fertility and family-planning benefits.
Adoption assistance.
Autism benefit.
Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions.
Wellness rewards program.
Virtual doctor visits.
Child and elder care services.
Second-opinion medical expert program.
Relocation assistance for eligible employees.
Flexible spending accounts.
Flexible work schedules.
Paid time off and holidays.
Potential annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation, subject to eligibility and program conditions.