Lead Software Engineer

STR

• $180K — $220K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of relevant experience in software development, preferably in a scientific field like Computer Science or Data Science.
  • Strong proficiency in Python with a focus on clean, high-quality code.
  • Familiarity with software development best practices, including version control (Git) and CI/CD.
  • Ability to obtain a security clearance, requiring U.S. citizenship.
  • Experience with advanced messaging tools like RabbitMQ or Kafka is a plus.

Responsibilities

  • Translate stakeholder requirements into deployable AI/ML solutions.
  • Develop user-facing features and robust backend architectures.
  • Build and maintain real-time data workflows and distributed processing pipelines.
  • Optimize software for data ingestion and intelligent storage/retrieval.
  • Ensure reliability and performance testing in operational environments.
  • Collaborate across programs, adapting to diverse projects and tools.

Benefits

  • Collaborative learning environment that supports technical understanding.
  • Recognition of contributions and achievements of team members.
  • Opportunity to work on projects of national significance.
Full Job Description
The Role:
As a Lead Software Engineer, you will use your software development expertise to operationalize advanced algorithms across a broad range of computer vision programs. You will integrate Python-based machine learning pipelines with complex systems and ensure they are resilient, maintainable, and user-focused.

Collaborating closely with project leads and customers, you will:
  • Translate stakeholder requirements into system features and components in a deployable AI/ML solutions stack
  • Develop new user-facing features and implement robust backend architectures to support them.
  • Build, maintain, and test messaging systems, such as real-time data workflows and distributed processing pipelines.
  • Optimize software for data ingestion, transformation, and intelligent storage/retrieval pipelines.
  • Maintain and improve workflows for distributed systems, ensuring reliability and performance testing in operational environments.
  • Participate in cross-program collaboration, adapting to diverse projects and tools.

Our work involves projects of national significance, and the ability to work on-site in one of our Dayton, OH, Woburn, MA, or Arlington, VA locations (depending on candidate preference) will be required.

Who you are:
  • Motivated collaborator who takes pride in the craftsmanship of their solutions and demonstrates strong ownership throughout the lifecycle of development
  • Ability to implement and evaluate novel prototype solutions, and work with a team to mature promising prototypes into operational capabilities
  • Strong proficiency in python and demonstrated ability to generate clean, high quality code both with and without coding tools
  • Familiarity with software development best practices, including version control (Git), testing at scale (CI/CD), and agentic coding best practices
  • BS Degree in a scientific field such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or Physics with 8+ years of relevant experience. Equivalent experience will be considered.
  • Ability to obtain a security clearance, for which U.S citizenship is needed by the U.S government

Even Better
  • Development experience with advanced messaging or real-time processing tools like RabbitMQ, Kafka, or ZeroMQ
  • Experience with integration of computer vision algorithms and image processing tools (e.g., Pytorch, OpenCV, ffmpeg)
  • Experienced in leading and directing research initiatives from inception to functional prototypes
  • Experience working in a large cross-functional, distributed team
  • Experience with US Government software accreditation processes
  • Active security clearance

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $180,000 - $220,000

The salary range listed is based on external market data. Offers are based on factors, such as but not limited to, the candidate's experience, education, training, key skills/critical skills, security clearances, and prevailing market and business conditions.

STR is a growing technology company with locations near Boston, MA, Arlington, VA, near Dayton, OH, Melbourne, FL, Carlsbad, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Denver, CO. We specialize in advanced research and development for defense, intelligence, and national security in: cyber; next generation sensors, radar, sonar, communications, and electronic warfare; and artificial intelligence algorithms and analytics to make sense of the complexity that is exploding around us.

STR is committed to creating a collaborative learning environment that supports deep technical understanding and recognizes the contributions and achievements of all team members. Our work is challenging, and we go home at night knowing that we pushed the envelope of technology and made the world safer.

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