Software Engineer V

Altron•Manassas, VA

1d•$179,000 - $209,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Navy Programs team as the technical authority for architecture, development, integration, and fielding of mission-critical software systems supporting U.S. Navy submarines, aircraft carriers, and shore-based platforms. The position sets technical direction across multiple teams while remaining hands-on in design, coding, and resolving complex integration problems. The role includes defining and driving modernization of legacy applications onto a Kubernetes-based platform and directly supports U.S. Navy submarine combat systems. It is based in Manassas, Virginia, and requires U.S. citizenship and an active DoD Secret clearance at the time of hire. The annual base salary is $179,000–$209,000, with final compensation based on experience and skills.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship and an active DoD Secret clearance at time of hire.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, plus 12 or more years of progressively responsible professional software development experience.
Demonstrated experience as lead architect or technical authority for a complex software system across multiple teams or releases.
Advanced proficiency in modern C++ (C++11 or newer), including concurrency, asynchronous design, memory management, and performance analysis.
Deep Linux experience, preferably Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or a derivative.
Experience architecting and troubleshooting distributed, event-driven, or real-time systems in production or fielded environments.
Hands-on experience with gRPC, Protocol Buffers, and messaging middleware such as DDS or AMQP.
Experience defining test strategy and CI/CD practices for a multi-team software program.
Experience translating system requirements and interface definitions into software architecture and defending design decisions in formal technical reviews.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including briefing technical strategy and risk to senior leadership and government customers.

Nice To Haves

Experience architecting or migrating applications onto Kubernetes, including operators, custom controllers, or Helm-based deployment.
Experience with RTI Connext DDS or other real-time publish-subscribe middleware on mission-critical systems.
Experience integrating software with tactical, combat, weapon-control, or other mission-critical Navy systems.
Experience with observability architecture using tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or Loki.
Experience supporting proposals, technical volumes, or basis-of-estimate development for DoD programs.
Experience with DevSecOps, secure software development practices, and supporting system accreditation.
Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Serve as technical authority for software architecture of U.S. Navy submarine combat systems, owning key design decisions and their rationale.
Define the technical roadmap for modernizing legacy C++, Java, and Electron applications onto a Kubernetes-based platform, including migration strategy, sequencing, and risk mitigation.
Establish architecture, interface, and coding standards across multiple development teams and maintain consistency across application, middleware, and deployment layers.
Lead design of distributed, real-time, and service-oriented systems using gRPC, Protocol Buffers, DDS, AMQP, and data-driven interface models.
Resolve complex software, concurrency, performance, networking, and integration problems in laboratory and Navy platform environments.
Represent the program's technical position to Navy customers, prime contractors, and partner organizations in design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and integration events.
Support program leadership with technical estimates, basis-of-estimate development, risk assessments, and proposal and capture activities.
Mentor technical leads and senior engineers, shape the team's engineering culture, and help develop future technical leaders.