Senior Software Engineer — Fleet Workflow Integrations

Sofar Ocean•San Diego, CA

1d•$140,000 - $180,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for an experienced Senior Software Engineer to work directly with U.S. Navy Fleet users as we adapt and mature Sofar technology for Government maritime workflows and systems. This is a hands-on software engineering role that sits close to the users, workflows, interfaces, and external systems our software needs to work with. This is a hybrid role based in either the Norfolk, Virginia or San Diego, California area, with an expectation of frequent onsite work — typically 2–3 days per week as needed — alongside Fleet Weather Center users. Candidates should already live within reasonable commuting distance of one of these locations. You’ll turn those observations into working software: improving user workflows, developing application capabilities, modeling operational concepts in the UI, and integrating Sofar technology with Government-provided systems and data. The work is intentionally iterative. Requirements may begin with an observed workflow, an operational problem, an unfamiliar Government system, or an idea that needs to be tested with users rather than a finished specification. You’ll help figure out what should be built, build it, put it in front of users, and refine it based on what you learn.

Requirements

5+ years of professional software engineering experience
Strong software engineering fundamentals and experience building and maintaining production software
Experience developing user-facing software and the backend services or APIs that support it
Experience with TypeScript/JavaScript, Python, or similar modern software development languages
Experience integrating software with APIs, data sources, backend services, or external systems
Strong visual and product sense, with the ability to independently design and build clear, intuitive user interfaces from observed user workflows and needs
Ability to translate operational workflows and domain concepts into practical application behavior
Ability to quickly understand unfamiliar systems, interfaces, data formats, workflows, and codebases
Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills across application and integration boundaries
Comfortable working directly with users to understand how they actually work and where software can improve their workflows
Comfortable iterating on software based on user feedback rather than relying exclusively on predefined requirements
Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset when working with engineers, product teams, domain experts, Fleet users, and Government technical organizations
U.S. citizenship is required for this position
An active or recently active U.S. Government Secret security clearance is required
Must be able to successfully pass a background check
Must be willing and able to work onsite with U.S. Navy Fleet Weather Center users as required

Nice To Haves

Experience developing software directly alongside operational users or domain experts
Experience with geospatial, mapping, routing, voyage-planning, or other location-based applications
Experience integrating software with Government or other unfamiliar external systems and services
Experience working with role-aware workflows, permissions, or user-facing access controls
Experience working in classified or restricted Government computing environments
U.S. Navy or other Department of Defense experience
Maritime, naval, meteorological, or ocean-domain experience
A personal connection to or passion for the oceans

Responsibilities

Working directly with Fleet Weather Center users to understand existing routing and voyage-planning workflows, pain points, and operational needs
Translating observed Fleet workflows into practical software and user-interface improvements
Improving workflows for ship selection, voyage planning, route review, and route comparison
Developing clear presentation of route, weather, vessel, voyage, and related operational information
Developing practical role-aware application behavior and user experiences
Building application capabilities that preserve enough routing context to support review, comparison, and reproducibility
Prototyping workflow concepts with users and iterating based on real-world feedback
Integrating and visualizing routes and data produced by external Government systems
Evaluating unfamiliar Government APIs, interfaces, data formats, authentication mechanisms, and technical constraints
Prototyping interoperability between Sofar technology and selected Navy and Government systems
Testing and troubleshooting software and integrations alongside Fleet users and Government engineering teams
Bridging the gap between Sofar’s product and engineering capabilities and the systems, data, workflows, and operational constraints encountered by Fleet users.
Understanding an existing workflow, investigating an unfamiliar interface, determining what data or APIs are available, developing a prototype, exercising it with users, and refining the solution.
Exploring interoperability with Government capabilities used around the routing workflow — including the ingestion, presentation, comparison, or exchange of route and voyage information.
Contributing to TypeScript/React applications, Python backend services, APIs, data integrations, application configuration, testing, and supporting software components.
Following a user or integration problem across software boundaries when necessary to understand it and make the solution work.
Working with Sofar and Government engineering teams to understand environment-specific behavior, troubleshoot integrations, and help ensure the capabilities developed function as intended in Government-provided classified research environments.