Technical Lead – Program Principal Engineer (C++)

Black Canyon Consulting•Bethesda, MD

About The Position

Black Canyon Consulting (BCC) is seeking a Technical Lead – Program Principal Engineer to support work for the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), an institute of the National Institutes of Health. The position is full time and onsite at NIH-NCBI in Bethesda, Maryland, and/or remote work. The Program Principal Engineer directs Technical Leads and teams to ensure architectural cohesion and collaboration within the program. For assigned projects, the role is responsible for all phases of software development, from vision, architecture, and design through implementation, production rollout, and operations. The position collaborates with the Program Head, Technical Program Manager, and other Program Principal Engineers across programs to foster effective communication, staff growth, knowledge sharing, technological innovation, sustainable software development practices, and service delivery. The work supports prominent offerings that help researchers find, browse, and download genomic data, including resources for virus and pathogen detection. These resources support research into common diseases, pandemic response, and surveillance to prevent outbreaks from food-borne, hospital-acquired, and other clinically infectious pathogens.

Requirements

At least a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or Engineering, or equivalent work experience.
A proven track record of managing an Agile software development team.
Experience working with highly available, high-traffic web applications.
Ability to translate business requirements into executable software development tasks.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to troubleshoot technical and staffing roadblocks and mitigate resource risks.
At least 5 years of software development experience in a Linux environment.
Proficiency in at least one programming language: Java, C, or C++.
Experience working with cloud data storage and processing platforms such as AWS or GCP.
Proficiency in at least one scripting language: BASH or Python.
Experience working with SQL databases.
Ability to work with structured documents such as XML, JSON, and CSV.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, unit tests, integration testing, and regression testing.
Strong presentation and collaboration skills.
Experience coaching team members.

Nice To Haves

Experience with genetic and biological data.
Experience with software packaging and distribution, including Docker or other containerization mechanisms.
Experience with MongoDB or other NoSQL database technology.
Experience with workflow engines, particularly scientific workflows and DataOps.

Responsibilities

Manage the program's software development team in an Agile framework.
Work with scientists, bioinformaticians, and other developers across the center to implement efficient bioinformatics algorithms.
Provide work estimates for development tasks.
Ensure on-schedule delivery of software solutions for the product line and organization.
Manage the software development lifecycle for assigned products.
Research new technologies to advance the goals of the program and product line.
Direct and coordinate the actions of the development team.
Provide technical leadership and guidance to the development team.
Act as a liaison between the development team and program leadership.
Create and maintain technical documentation related to the product line.
Ensure high code quality for software development tasks.