Back to jobs
New

Software Engineer

Durham, NC

Software Engineer

About CoVar

CoVar is a small, mission-driven AI/ML R&D software company based in Durham, NC and McLean, VA. We build advanced software and machine learning systems that help the Department of Defense detect threats in high-stakes environments and enable biomedical researchers to accelerate discoveries that save lives. Our team is composed of curious, passionate engineers who care deeply about using AI to solve real-world problems that matter.

About this position

We are looking for a motivated, detail-oriented Software Engineer who thrives in an environment where reading, understanding, and improving complex codebases is just as important as writing new code. In this role, you will develop and maintain real-time, computationally intensive applications involving data processing, real-time communications, and machine-learning algorithm integration.

You’ll work closely with a team of ML engineers and software developers, contribute to system architecture and performance optimization, and help ensure our tools are robust, efficient, and production ready. You will have the opportunity to work on meaningful, high-impact projects in a close-knit engineering team. If you enjoy building systems end-to-end, optimizing performance, and understanding how software interacts with hardware at a deep level, you’ll fit right in. 

Important Note: 

This is a software engineering role and not a prompt engineering role. Candidates with strong LLM prompting skills but limited understanding of software engineering fundamentals will not be successful here. 

Minimum qualifications

  • B.S. in Computer Science or related field, preferably M.S., Ph.D, and/or 3+ years of experience
  • Expertise in Python with a minimum of two years of demonstrated hands-on professional development experience and exposure to scientific/computational libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, etc.
  • Experience developing real-time, computationally-focused applications
  • Working knowledge of SQL and experience with one or more of MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite
  • Strong fundamental understanding of computing hardware architectures and how they influence software architectural decisions
  • Experience with software development processes, including version control, documentation, testing, and code review
  • Excellent technical communication skills and a customer-service mindset
  • Ability to work in Durham, NC (relocation assistance available)
  • Eligibility for US security clearance (US citizenship is required)

Preferred qualifications

  • Linux application development
  • Experience with embedded systems or deploying AI/ML solutions on edge hardware (highly desirable)
  • Familiarity with real-time systems, edge hardware optimization, and performance profiling
  • Experience with signal processing, pattern recognition, image processing, and/or machine learning techniques
  • Prior Department of Defense project experience 

Benefits

  • Competitive salary, cash bonus, equity structure, and 401k with employer contributions
  • Excellent health care coverage, including dental and vision plans
  • Parental leave
  • Short-term and long-term disability insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Flexible work schedule
  • Tuition support
  • PTO and paid holidays

Visit us: www.covar.com

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at CoVar? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Phone
Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf


Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in CoVar’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.