Software Engineering Lead

Connsci•Washington, DC

1d•$145 - $190•Remote

About The Position

Connsci is seeking an experienced Software Engineering Lead / Engineering Manager to direct application development and DevSecOps implementation for a federal customer's enterprise healthcare IT platform. This senior technical leadership and key personnel role serves as the principal technical partner to the Product Manager, translating federal customer priorities into secure, scalable, and maintainable software solutions. The hands-on position combines application architecture and development with leadership of approximately three engineers. The Engineering Lead brings expertise in Drupal/PHP development, AWS cloud environments, Kubernetes, and Agile delivery while guiding architecture decisions, code reviews, testing, and production releases. The role reports to the Product Manager and balances feature delivery with long-term maintainability, security, and privacy requirements. The position is expected to be remote, with initial in-person customer meetings as needed. The opportunity is contingent upon contract award. Candidates must be willing to participate in proposal-related technical oral presentations if the team advances in the procurement process. Connsci describes its mission as serving as a trusted strategic partner to clients and delivering tailored, industry-informed solutions to mission-critical issues. The company highlights collaboration and innovation, professional growth, and impactful work. Connsci will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position and is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
At least 10 years of software development experience, including at least 5 years leading software engineering teams.
Strong hands-on experience with Drupal architecture, custom module development, PHP, and application modernization.
Experience developing, deploying, and maintaining applications in AWS cloud environments.
Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).
Practical experience with Jenkins, GitHub, SonarQube, Snyk, Artifactory, and automated CI/CD pipelines.
Experience with REST APIs, authentication, authorization, enterprise integrations, and modern application architectures.
Experience leading Scrum teams, managing technical backlogs, and delivering iterative software releases.
Knowledge of secure coding, static and dynamic application security testing (SAST/DAST), vulnerability remediation, and federal cybersecurity requirements.
Familiarity with approved AI-assisted software development tools, responsible AI governance, and human-in-the-loop validation.
Demonstrated ability to guide engineering decisions, review code, mentor developers, and resolve complex production issues.
Experience supporting healthcare IT applications or initiatives, with an understanding of privacy-sensitive environments and secure management of healthcare information.
Demonstrated leadership of a small engineering team, typically three to five people, including work planning and milestone delivery. Technical lead or lead architect experience is acceptable; a formal people-manager title is not required.
Experience delivering applications with enterprise-wide scope and impact, including coordination across technical and business stakeholders.
Willingness to participate in proposal-related technical oral presentations if the team advances in the procurement process.

Nice To Haves

AWS Certified Developer - Associate or AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional.
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) or equivalent Kubernetes certification.
Experience supporting federal healthcare agencies or large-scale Government enterprise applications.
Experience with Drupal upgrades, custom modules, and PHP application modernization.
Familiarity with federal NIST SP 800-53 security controls.
Experience implementing automated testing, security scanning, and vulnerability remediation within CI/CD pipelines.
Experience implementing Section 508 accessibility requirements in web applications.
Experience integrating AI-assisted development tools with appropriate security controls and human-in-the-loop validation processes.
Certifications listed above are preferred; no certification is required for this position.

Responsibilities

Lead the engineering team through application design, development, testing, deployment, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
Provide hands-on development support, code reviews, technical troubleshooting, and engineering mentorship.
Direct Drupal/PHP application development, API integration, and modernization of existing software components.
Translate federal customer requirements and user stories into technical designs, engineering tasks, and acceptance criteria.
Guide implementation of CI/CD pipelines using approved technologies such as Jenkins, GitHub, SonarQube, Snyk, and Artifactory.
Integrate secure coding practices, automated testing, vulnerability remediation, and DevSecOps controls throughout the development lifecycle.
Coordinate containerized application development, cloud migration, and deployments using Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).
Collaborate with the System Architect on technical architecture, performance, reliability, scalability, and enterprise integration decisions.
Establish engineering quality standards and support controlled production releases with minimal disruption to end users.
Evaluate federally approved AI-assisted development tools while enforcing security controls, human-in-the-loop practices, and responsible AI governance.
Ensure AI-assisted development tools operate within authorized federal environments and comply with applicable security and privacy requirements.
Communicate technical risks, architectural trade-offs, and development priorities clearly to federal product and program leadership.
Support application monitoring, incident resolution, root cause analysis, and continuous performance improvement.
Coordinate engineering assignments, Agile workflows, dependencies, and milestones with the Product Manager to maintain delivery commitments.
Participate in proposal-related technical oral presentations if the team advances in the procurement process.