R&D Software Engineer -- AI/ML Mission Solutions

Rackner is a software consultancy focused on building mission-critical systems for the U.S. government. They are seeking an R&D Software Engineer to help build, prototype, demonstrate, and refine software and platform solutions for defense-relevant use cases, engaging in hands-on R&D work and collaborating with technical leadership.

Responsibilities:

• Build, prototype, test, and refine software and platform solutions for defense-relevant use cases
• Contribute to internal R&D efforts from concept through demonstration and follow-on improvement
• Develop, configure, integrate, and validate prototype capabilities across cloud-native or containerized environments
• Support technical demos, R&D events, solution walkthroughs, and customer or mission-focused engagements
• Translate user, customer, and stakeholder feedback into clear technical requirements and next-step recommendations
• Work closely with engineers and technical leadership to evaluate tradeoffs, troubleshoot issues, and improve system behavior
• Bridge operational needs and software implementation by helping teams understand what users need and what is technically feasible
• Test APIs, services, workflows, integrations, and deployment patterns in modern software environments
• Prepare demo materials, technical documentation, briefing content, and post-event feedback summaries
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to engineering teams, program stakeholders, customers, and mission users
• Represent Rackner's R&D work with professionalism, curiosity, and technical credibility

Requirements:

• U.S. citizenship required due to federal contract requirements
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance
• Technical background in software development, platform engineering, systems engineering, DevSecOps, cloud technologies, or a related discipline
• Hands-on experience designing, building, integrating, testing, or improving modern software systems
• Proven ability to collaborate with engineering teams through prototype development, experimentation, implementation, or delivery efforts
• Working knowledge of APIs, cloud platforms, container technologies, CI/CD pipelines, and modern development practices
• Ability to collect input from users and stakeholders and convert needs into clear engineering priorities
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain architectures, tradeoffs, and technical decisions to varied audiences
• Comfortable operating independently in fast-moving environments with evolving requirements
• Willingness to travel approximately 15% for R&D events, demonstrations, collaboration sessions, or customer engagements
• Active Secret clearance or higher
• Background with DoD, Air Force, Platform One, Big Bang, mission planning, C2, ISR, autonomy, or other defense technology programs
• Knowledge of Mission Command, Battle Management, operational planning tools, tactical applications, or related defense systems
• Proficiency with technologies such as Python, JavaScript / TypeScript, React, Go, FastAPI, Postgres, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Terraform, or CI/CD tooling
• History of creating prototypes, connecting systems, evaluating new technologies, or bringing early concepts into usable form
• Participation in technical demonstrations, pilots, field exercises, workshops, briefings, or customer-facing events
• Experience collaborating directly with operators, end users, customers, engineers, and cross-functional teams
• Exposure to AI-enabled applications, LLMs, automation, data platforms, autonomy, or emerging technology areas
• Understanding of secure development practices, observability, infrastructure-as-code, compliance requirements, or production operations
• Strong writing skills for creating documentation, technical summaries, demo content, and stakeholder-facing materials