Senior Software Programmer

Guidehouse•Washington, DC

1d•$149,000 - $248,000

About The Position

We’re seeking a highly experienced Senior Software Programmer (SME Level) to provide expert‑level software engineering, architecture guidance, and modernization leadership across mission‑critical Department of Justice (DOJ) programs. In this role, you will act as a senior technical authority, shaping enterprise design decisions, mentoring technical teams, and leading complex software initiatives within secure, highly regulated environments. Your work will directly support DOJ missions and enable national‑level justice and security outcomes.

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship
Active Top Secret (TS) Clearance with SCI or the ability to obtain SCI
Twelve (12)+ years of progressive software development experience, with demonstrated SME‑level leadership in federal, secure, or regulated environments.
Expert‑level proficiency with one or more core programming stacks: Java/Spring Boot, .NET/C#, Python (FastAPI/Flask/Django), or Node.js (Express/Nest)
Extensive experience building enterprise‑grade REST APIs, distributed systems, and relational database solutions using PostgreSQL or Oracle.
Deep experience with CI/CD and DevSecOps tooling (GitLab CI, Jenkins, GitHub Actions), including secure pipeline orchestration.
Advanced understanding of secure coding: encryption, secrets management, PKI, authN/Z, mTLS, OWASP patterns, and protocol hardening.
Thorough experience with RMF, STIGs, secure configuration, and compliance engineering in DOJ/DoD/IC environments.
Strong cloud engineering background in AWS GovCloud or Azure Government, plus Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform/CloudFormation).
Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts to mission leadership, engineering teams, and cross‑discipline partners.
BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience (advanced degrees or SME‑level certifications preferred).

Nice To Haves

Experience directly supporting DOJ components such as FBI, DEA, ATF, EOIR, BOP, USAO, or similar law enforcement agencies.
Expertise with distributed data technologies: Kafka, Kinesis, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, NiFi.
Proficiency in observability & SecOps tooling: Splunk, CloudWatch, Prometheus/Grafana, SonarQube, ZAP, Trivy.
Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks: CJIS, NIEM, FISMA, FedRAMP High, Section 508.
Experience with modern messaging and integration tools: gRPC, GraphQL, RabbitMQ, SQS/SNS, EventBridge.
Advanced test automation skills: JUnit, pytest, Cypress/Playwright, Pact for contract testing.
Deep experience integrating identity and security frameworks (OAuth2/OIDC, SAML, PKI, KMS/HSM).
Experience with Red Hat OpenShift, service mesh (Istio/Linkerd), and policy controls (OPA/Gatekeeper).
Certifications: AWS/Azure GovCloud, Security+, CASP+, CISSP, CKA/CKAD, DoD 8570/8140 certifications.
Strong experience designing data governance and lifecycle models for sensitive/controlled information.
Expertise in secure secrets/configuration management using AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault.
Proven ability to develop high‑quality technical documentation for ATO packages (ADRs, runbooks, system diagrams).
Skilled in diagnosing and resolving complex production issues under strict change‑controlled processes.
Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving enterprise coding standards and reusable framework libraries.
Comfortable working within SCIF procedures and supporting structured workflows via ServiceNow or Jira.

Responsibilities

Serve as a technical SME for enterprise programming, secure application architecture, and modernization strategies across DOJ projects.
Architect, design, and develop complex, scalable software systems and APIs supporting DOJ mission workflows and cross‑agency integrations.
Lead modernization including cloud migration, service decomposition, containerization, and re‑platforming of legacy systems.
Define and enforce advanced CI/CD strategies, DevSecOps automation, secure build pipelines, and artifact governance.
Establish and ensure rigorous compliance with RMF, STIG, FIPS 140‑2, FedRAMP High, and DOJ/IC cybersecurity requirements.
Oversee contributions to ATO packages, including security documentation, remediation planning, test evidence, and continuous monitoring.
Direct performance optimization, distributed tracing, observability patterns, and system tuning across complex environments.
Guide Agile teams through architectural decisions, technical grooming, code quality reviews, and engineering best practices.
Mentor developers across experience levels and lead technical communities of practice, coding standards, and reusable framework development.
Provide senior‑level troubleshooting, incident support, and operational continuity within SCIF environments.

Benefits

Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
Parental Leave
401(k) Retirement Plan
Group Term Life and Travel Assistance
Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance
Health Savings Account, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
Transit and Parking Commuter Benefits
Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development, Certifications & Learning Opportunities
Employee Referral Program
Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
Care.com annual membership
Employee Assistance Program
Supplemental Benefits via Corestream (Critical Care, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Assistance and ID theft protection, etc.)
Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus