Senior Software Engineer - Open Source (RD217)
About The Position
Defense Unicorns seeks an experienced Software Engineer to build, maintain, and steward its open source products and the broader ecosystems they depend on. The role collaborates with product managers, designers, engineers, community contributors, and end users to ensure the team builds appropriate, high-quality solutions. The Open Source Software Engineer works at the intersection of community stewardship, product development, and technical execution, helping lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of cloud native software with direct impact on mission outcomes. The role calls for strong Golang experience, interest in cloud native technologies, and willingness to learn TypeScript. As the open source work evolves, the engineer may contribute in additional languages and communities, including Rust. Travel expectations are 5–15%. Responsibilities may evolve according to organizational needs, and the successful candidate should be adaptable and willing to take on new responsibilities.
Requirements
- At least 5 years of software engineering experience.
- Proficiency in Go.
- Strong understanding of system design, libraries and software APIs, Kubernetes, and cloud architecture such as AWS or Azure.
- Familiarity with core Kubernetes concepts, including controllers, operators, and CRDs.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to convey technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Ability to assess intricate problems, propose solutions, and implement them effectively.
Nice To Haves
- Experience building or maintaining open source software tools, especially in cloud native, software lifecycle, or software supply chain domains.
- Experience contributing to open source projects and participating in open source communities.
- Involvement with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Apache Software Foundation (ASF), Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), or similar communities.
- Interest in learning TypeScript and contributing across additional modern languages such as Rust.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with internal engineers and open source community contributors on features, bug fixes, reviews, and releases through clear communication and responsible stewardship.
- Engage with open source communities, industry partners, and standards bodies through platforms such as Slack and GitHub to advance projects and upstream ecosystems, including facilitating community meetings with internal and external users.
- Represent projects in the ecosystem by delivering a mission-focused end-user experience and collaborating with users on case studies, blogs, or conference presentations.
- Identify and resolve ambiguity across product requirements, community needs, and upstream project constraints.
- Work proactively, manage time efficiently, and contribute effectively in a remote work environment.
- Build and integrate secure, interoperable cloud native software for defense environments and contribute improvements to relevant open source projects where appropriate.
- Own architecture decisions and ensure technical quality across open source codebases, APIs, and contributor workflows.
- Develop design proposals, contribution guides, user documentation, maintenance guides, and other comprehensive documentation.
- Stay informed about emerging cloud native, open source, and secure software supply chain technologies to guide product enhancements and ecosystem contributions.
- Provide technical mentorship and elevate engineering standards across the team.
- Influence product direction through a deep understanding of user needs and system constraints.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
