Sr. Staff Software Engineer

SciTec, a subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace, is a defense contractor focused on advanced technologies for U.S. National Security and Defense. They are seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer to design and develop high-quality software systems for advanced analysis and data processing workflows, emphasizing distributed systems and microservices.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain high-quality software aligned with program and project objectives
• Work both independently and collaboratively with development teams to deliver complex features end to end
• Collaborate directly with advanced technical and scientific users to translate analysis needs into robust software solutions
• Ensure reliability, scalability, and performance of messaging systems and data pipelines
• Contribute to containerized, distributed microservice architectures, including development, deployment, and testing
• Design, implement, and maintain real-time or near-real-time data processing and streaming workflows
• Ensure reliability, scalability, and performance of messaging systems and data pipelines
• Identify technical risks and propose risk-reduction strategies to support program success
• Participate in and guide Agile development activities, including code reviews, design discussions, and sprint planning
• Promote strong engineering practices, including testing, documentation, and maintainability
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers through technical collaboration and code reviews
• Champion comprehensive testing strategies, including unit, integration, and system testing
• Contribute to documentation, knowledge sharing, and clear technical communication
• Perform other duties as assigned

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, or a related technical field
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong proficiency in Object-Oriented Programming, including modern language features and best practices
• Hands-on experience with microservice architectures and distributed systems
• Understanding of containerization (e.g., Docker, Podman) and orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes)
• Solid understanding of software engineering fundamentals, including design patterns, modularity, and maintainability
• Experience writing and maintaining automated tests
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across technical disciplines
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high-quality, well-tested code
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Professional experience working in Linux environments
• Experience using version control systems such as Git
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance
• Advanced degree (e.g., Masters) in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics
• Experience working with remotely sensed data or scientific data processing workflows
• Active DoD Top Secret security clearance
• Experience with implementing Zero-Trust utilizing OAuth2, SAML, Keycloak, OPA, or similar
• Familiarity with messaging and communication technologies, such as: Protocol Buffers, ZeroMQ, Kafka, gRPC, and REST
• Professional experience with DevOps and CI/CD tooling, including: Docker, Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD
• Experience working in Agile software development environments and using task scheduling and tracking software (e.g., JIRA)