Software Engineer 3 - (Python, Kubernetes, RAG)Clearance: TS/SCI - Polygraph required
Position ID: 02-540-SWE3
Location: Annapolis Junction, Maryland
Description:The Software Engineer shall design, develop, deploy, and support Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions within a high-performance computing (HPC) Linux environment.
- Designs, develops, tests, deploys, documents, maintains, and enhances complex and diverse software systems based upon documented requirements.
- Reviews and tests software components for adherence to the design requirements and documents test results.
- Resolves software problem reports.
- Utilizes software development and software design methodologies appropriate to the development environment.
- Provides specific input to the software components of system design to include hardware/software trade-offs, software reuse, use of Open Source Software (OSS) and/or Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Government Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) software in place of new development, and requirements analysis and synthesis from system level to individual software components.
- Analyze user requirements to derive software design and performance requirements.
- Debug existing software and correct defects.
- Design and code new software or modify existing software to add new features.
- Write or review software and system documentation.
- Integrate existing software into new or modified systems or operating environments.
- Develop simple data queries for existing or proposed databases or data repositories.
- Software development using languages such as C, C++, Python, Ruby, Perl, JavaScript, etc.
- Has experience with agile development processes.
- Has experience with source code control systems, such as Git.
- Serve as team lead at the level appropriate to the software development process being used on any particular project.
- Design and development of relational and non-relational database applications.
- Use of orchestration frameworks such as Spring and Kafka.
- Familiarization with queue management systems
- Develop or implement algorithms to meet or exceed system performance and functional standards.
- Develop and execute test procedures for software components.
- Develop software solutions by analyzing system performance standards and conferring with users or system engineers; analyzing systems flow, data usage and work processes; and investigating problem areas.
- Modify existing software to adapt to new hardware or to improve its performance.
- Design, develop, and modify software systems using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design decisions.
- Java development using the Eclipse IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
- Development of Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications
- Experience using collaboration and software development tools (ie. Atlassian).
- Software development using continuous integration practices.
- Experience with container technologies (ie. Docker).
- Unix shell scripting
- Development of event driven, or data driven analytics
- Development of cloud-based solutions and technologies.
- Design or implement complex algorithms requiring adherence to strict timing, system resource, or interface constraints. Perform quality control on team products.
- Recommend and implement suggestions for improving documentation and software development process standards.
- Oversee one or more software development teams and ensure the work is completed in accordance with the constraints of the software development process being used on any particular project.
- Confer with system engineers and hardware engineers to derive software requirements and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements, and interfaces.
- Coordinate software installation on a system and monitor performance to ensure operational specifications are met.
- Recommend new technologies and processes for complex software projects.
- Serve as the technical lead of multiple software development teams.
- Select the software development process in coordination with the customer and system engineering.
- Ensure quality control of all developed and modified software.
- Delegate programming and testing responsibilities to one or more teams and monitor their performance.
Position Required Skills:- Proven experience working in Linux environments, including advanced use of the Linux command-line interface (CLI) for development, troubleshooting, and system administration
- Recent hands-on software development experience using Python, with a strong understanding of modern software engineering practices and frameworks
- Experience with containerization technologies, such as Docker, Podman, and containerd, for application packaging, deployment, and lifecycle management
- Experience designing, authoring, and deploying Helm charts to manage Kubernetes-based applications and services
- Experience developing, testing, deploying, and supporting containerized applications in production environments
- Experience creating, configuring, and managing Kubernetes resources, including Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets, Ingresses, and Operators
- Working knowledge of Generative SI technologies, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures, embedding models, and vector databases
- Experience implementing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines using tools such as GitLab CI/CD, Flux CD, GitLab Runners or similar tools
- Experience leveraging observability, metrics, logging, and monitoring solutions including Prometheus and Grafana
- Proficiency with Git-based source control workflows, including branching strategies, code reviews, pull/merge requests, and collaborative development practices
- Understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) best practices, including automated testing, security scanning, code quality analysis, and DevSecOps principles
Position Desired Skills:- Familiar with developing, deploying, troubleshooting, and sustaining mission applications in an AWS Cloud environment
- Experience with the Atlassian suite of tools including Confluence and Jira
- Experience working with, and debugging, GPU-enabled applications
- Experience using a machine-learning framework (PyTorch, TensorFlow, etc)
- Experience with other ML pipelines/frameworks like KubeFlow, NeMo, PyTorch Lightning, etc.
- Experience with SQL, Elasticsearch, and Vector databases
- Knowledge of SI inferencing solutions such as Nvidia NIM/TRITON, vLLM, and direct deployment (e.g. Ray)
SWE3 Qualifications:Master's degree in computer science or related discipline from an accredited college or university, plus five (5) years of experience as a SWE, in programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity.
Bachelor's degree in computer science or related discipline from an accredited college or university, plus seven (7) years of experience as a SWE, in programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity.
Nine (9) years of experience as a SWE, in programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity.
Salary Range: $218k-$266k (Annually)
The range displayed above is a likely salary range for this position. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possible contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.
Akina is a Woman Owned, Service Disabled, Veteran Owned, Small Business, looking for talented and ambitious individuals to join our team. We offer a generous compensation package that includes 24 days PTO accrued annually and 11 federal holidays. Our 401k is 100% vested on your start date and the company makes a direct contribution worth 10% of your salary. Akina covers 100% of healthcare costs for employees and 50% toward dependents. We offer educational assistance towards college classes and will cover costs associated with job related training and certifications. 
