Staff Python Engineer (Modeling & Simulation)

Code Metal • San Francisco, CA

20h • Hybrid

About The Position

Code Metal is seeking a Staff Python Engineer for their Modeling & Simulation team. This team is developing a next-generation wargaming and decision-support platform for the Department of Defense. The role involves designing and implementing backend services, APIs, and distributed infrastructure to drive core wargaming simulations. Responsibilities include integrating with AI/ML pipelines, managing data, exposing results to stakeholders, and building scalable cloud infrastructure. The engineer will also gather requirements from government stakeholders and apply strong SDLC practices.

Key aspects of the role include developing backend infrastructure for agentic AI and machine learning pipelines, supporting various model types, and building foundations for the wargaming platform. This involves designing workflows for scenario generation, Monte Carlo simulations, sensitivity analysis, and campaign evaluation. The engineer will also build distributed, cloud-scale infrastructure to enable simulations across different environments while ensuring reproducibility and model provenance. Strong command of cloud services and distributed architectures is essential.

Requirements

• Professional experience with collaborative, enterprise-level software development in Python, delivering products to a large customer base.
• Experience gathering requirements from stakeholders and distilling them into software designs.
• Experience building and delivering robust software using strong SDLC practices, including code review, testing, continuous integration, release management, and build systems.
• Familiarity with machine learning tools and frameworks.
• Expertise building scalable APIs (REST, GraphQL, gRPC).
• Hands-on experience with Docker and containerized application development.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with agentic AI frameworks and solutions.
• Familiarity with code analysis / static analysis.
• Experience working with cloud-based distributed systems (AWS, GCP, Azure).
• Active U.S. security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, or SCI/SAP).
• Direct experience developing AFSIM plugins, framework extensions, event infrastructure, or custom platform types.
• Familiarity with HLA, DIS, OneSAF, JSAF, NGTS, STK, or other constructive and distributed simulation environments.
• Experience supporting Air Force, Space Force, joint, or broader DoD acquisition and mission-analysis programs.
• Experience developing models for sensors, weapons, electronic warfare, jamming, communications, logistics, or command and control.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend services and APIs that orchestrate mission- and campaign-level simulation runs, collect their outputs, and expose results to analysts and government stakeholders.
• Build scenario-generation, operational and mission planning workflows, and key services for Monte-Carlo based sensitivity-analysis for our wargaming and decision-support platform.
• Build distributed, cloud-scale infrastructure that scales simulations across developer workstations, on-premises infrastructure, and cloud compute while preserving reproducibility and model provenance.
• Build data ingestion, normalization, and analysis pipelines that turn raw simulation output into decision-ready insight for defense users.
• Build scalable APIs (REST, GraphQL, gRPC) and containerized services that connect the Python tooling layer to the core simulation runtime and downstream analysis tools.
• Gather requirements from government stakeholders, domain experts, and analysts, and distill them into clear software designs.
• Employ strong SDLC practices throughout — code review, testing, continuous integration, release management, and build systems.

Benefits

• Pay depends on experience, but we strive to be at the upper end of the salary range
• Health care plan with 100% premium coverage, including medical, dental, and vision
• 401k with 5% matching
• Paid Time Off (uncapped vacation, plus sick and public holidays)
• Flexible hybrid or remote work arrangement
• Relocation assistance for qualifying employees
• Wage Transparency

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed