Senior Software Engineer - Virtual Machines (RD222)

Defense Unicorns

16h•$148,750 - $201,250•Remote

About The Position

Defense Unicorns is building UDS VM, a product that enables secure deployment, operation, and management of virtual machines alongside containerized workloads in the UDS platform. The role focuses on creating a supported, repeatable way to run VMs in secure, disconnected environments, including the security controls and evidence needed for authorization. This is product software engineering at the intersection of Kubernetes, virtualization, and security. The Senior Software Engineer will shape technical decisions, independently own complex product capabilities, and collaborate with engineering, product, UX, and mission users to deliver reliable, intuitive solutions. The role also contributes to establishing engineering practices as the team grows; one of the Senior openings may include hands-on technical leadership. The position is remote in the United States and requires U.S. citizenship because the employer is a U.S. government contractor. Travel expectations are 5–10%. Compensation is $148,750–$201,250 USD, based on candidate experience.

Requirements

At least 5 years of professional software engineering experience.
Strong proficiency in Go or another modern programming language, with an interest in developing Go-based systems.
Experience designing and building software that interacts with Kubernetes or other distributed systems.
Strong understanding of APIs, system design, and software architecture.
Experience developing backend services, controllers, operators, or developer tooling.
Familiarity with Linux systems, containers, and operating system concepts.
Experience building, testing, and operating production software.
Ability to navigate ambiguity, evaluate technical tradeoffs, and independently drive complex work to completion.
Strong problem-solving skills and ability to debug across multiple system boundaries.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to influence technical direction and mentor other engineers.
U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

Experience with KubeVirt, QEMU/KVM, or other virtualization technologies.
Experience developing Kubernetes operators, controllers, or custom resource definitions (CRDs).
Experience configuring, managing, or troubleshooting Windows virtual machines.
Familiarity with VM image formats, conversion, migration, and lifecycle management.
Experience with Kubernetes networking and storage.
Experience building CLI tools, particularly in Go.
Familiarity with Zarf, OCI artifacts, or software packaging and distribution.
Experience working in air-gapped, disconnected, or regulated environments.
Contributions to Kubernetes, KubeVirt, or other CNCF open-source projects.
Experience building security-focused software or integrating systems with identity, access control, and observability platforms.

Responsibilities

Build Kubernetes tooling and APIs for orchestrating and managing virtual machine workloads.
Build tooling to inspect, convert, prepare, and package VM images for disconnected delivery.
Integrate virtual machine workloads with UDS networking, observability, and security capabilities.
Create VM management workflows for inventory, status, power controls, and console access.
Solve problems across VM lifecycle, persistent storage, networking, and image distribution.
Make VM deployments reproducible, secure, and supportable in air-gapped environments.
Work with Product, UX, and Mission Heroes to turn operational needs into product capabilities.
Own the design, implementation, testing, and delivery of complex software features and systems.
Drive pragmatic technical decisions and contribute to architecture across product components.
Proactively identify and resolve ambiguity in collaboration with Product, UX, and Mission Heroes.
Debug complex issues across Kubernetes, virtualization, storage, networking, and operating systems.
Improve software reliability, security, performance, observability, and maintainability.
Review code, mentor teammates, and help establish strong engineering practices.
Document technical decisions, communicate clearly, and collaborate effectively across teams.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance; premiums are 100% company paid.
Health Savings Account.
Life insurance.
Disability insurance.
401k retirement plan.
Company stock options.
Home office budget.
Flexible Time Off (FTO) for full-time employees.
Federal holidays, one week off for Thanksgiving, and two weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s.
Paid parental leave.
Reimbursement for approved trainings and subscriptions.
Conference travel, lodging, and fees.