Software Engineer

Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA

1d

About The Position

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University seeks a Senior Software Engineer to support U.S. Department of War customers acquiring and sustaining mission-critical software-based mission planning and readiness applications. The role supports the full software acquisition lifecycle, including architecture analysis, development oversight, risk reduction, integration, and long-term sustainment planning. The engineer will work with Program Executive Offices, Program Management Offices, sustainment organizations, contractors, and other stakeholders to ensure delivered capabilities meet operational, maintainability, and supportability requirements.

The role calls for hands-on expertise in C++ and browser-supported languages, along with experience supporting defense acquisition programs, legacy-dependent systems, and operational environments. The engineer will integrate with technical teams, evaluate architectural tradeoffs, develop prototypes, analyze source code, and contribute to customer engagements that inform acquisition and sustainment decisions.

Requirements

• Ability to obtain and maintain an active Department of War security clearance.
• Experience leading, architecting, or developing large-scale acquisition programs.
• Experience developing mission- and safety-critical embedded software applications.
• Experience supporting major Department of War acquisition organizations.
• Experience designing and implementing complex software architectures for mission-critical or sustainment-focused systems based on new and existing requirements with varying levels of uncertainty.
• Experience developing new and maintaining existing software documentation artifacts, emphasizing views and models across the full software development lifecycle using modern tools and approaches.
• Experience with structured verification and validation activities in planning and executing system- and software-level testing.
• Ability to identify and balance architectural drivers, tradeoffs, extensibility, and long-term maintainability.
• Experience across the full software development lifecycle, including static analysis tools and associated coding standards to improve quality and security.
• Demonstrated success leading technical teams and engaging credibly with government and contractor stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, including the ability to convey complex technical concepts to senior government decision-makers.
• Willingness to work directly with U.S. military and government customers in mission-focused environments.
• Ability to travel up to 25% to SEI offices, sponsor sites, conferences, and offsite meetings.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline with eight years of experience; or a master’s degree in those fields with five years of experience; or a Ph.D. in those fields with two years of experience.

Nice To Haves

• Existing SECRET or higher security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Support Department of War software acquisition and sustainment efforts in alignment with DoD 5000-series guidance, including architecture analysis, engineering, integration, testing, deployment, and sustainment planning.
• Provide software development expertise for a Department of War planning and readiness application.
• Analyze lifecycle artifacts for two or more planning applications and propose methods to combine them into a common baseline.
• Advise government stakeholders and develop prototypes concerning software design decisions, technical risks, modernization strategies, and tradeoffs for large, legacy-dependent systems.
• Lead software development efforts from concept through deployment, with an emphasis on C++ and browser-supported languages such as C#, Java, and Angular.
• Develop and maintain software architecture artifacts, including data-flow diagrams, sequence diagrams, interface control definitions, and quality attribute specifications.
• Analyze source code, interfaces, and data flows to identify technical debt, sustainment risks, and modernization opportunities.
• Build prototypes and technical demonstrations to reduce risk, inform acquisition decisions, and mature emerging capabilities.
• Lead and mentor development teams, promoting disciplined engineering practices, continuous improvement, and mission focus.
• Support technical interchange meetings, design reviews, and acquisition milestone activities with clear, defensible technical input.
• Stay current on emerging technologies, software engineering practices, and digital modernization initiatives relevant to sustainment and maintenance systems.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance.
• Tuition benefits for the employee and dependent children.
• Generous time off.
• Robust retirement savings policy, including an 8% monthly retirement-plan contribution with no personal contribution required.
• Paid parental and military leave.
• Relocation assistance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior