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Software Engineer

Boston, Massachusetts

EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE U.S. CITIZENSHIP.

Role Description: 

Defense Unicorns is seeking a mission-driven Software Engineer with a deep passion for large-scale databases and distributed systems. You'll be joining Defense Unicorns’ US Navy team and be responsible for designing and implementing scalable solutions, owning end-to-end project delivery, and advocating best practices in database usage and system architecture.  In this role you will work closely with other software engineers, platform engineers, end users, and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities: 

  • Work with engineers internal to the company, and within the open source community on feature and bug fix requests
  • Work with partner company engineers and stakeholders to devise the best solutions for our Mission Heroes
  • Proactively identify and resolve ambiguity in product requirements
  • Comfortable in an asynchronous, all remote environment
  • Actively participate in communities of practice via Slack and Github Issues
  • Integrate software products with existing defense systems, ensuring seamless interoperability and adherence to security protocols
  • Own architecture decisions and ensure technical quality across the engineering team.
  • Develop comprehensive documentation, including design specifications, user manuals, and maintenance guides
  • Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends to inform product enhancements and innovation.
  • Provide technical mentorship and elevate engineering standards across the team
  • Communicate effectively with all levels of engineers and stakeholders internal and external to the company
  • Influence product direction through deep understanding of user needs and system constraints

Travel Expectations/Requirements: 20-30%

The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise. 

Preferred Experience and Qualifications:

  • 3+ years (mid) or 5+ years (senior) experience with software engineering
  • Experience building a software tool with core focuses on software lifecycle and management 
  • Proficient in at least one modern programming language (e.g., Go, TypeScript)
  • Strong understanding of system design, APIs, databases, and cloud architecture (e.g., AWS, Azure)
  • Excited to assess intricate problems, propose solutions, and implement them effectively
  • Familiar with Core Kubernetes Concepts including but not limited to Controllers, Operators, and CRDs.
  • Familiar with Department of Defense acquisition or sustainment software modernization projects
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills, comfortable conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Experience working proactively, managing time efficiently, and thriving in a vibrant remote work environment!  ✨🦄

Salary Ranges:
Platform Engineer: $132,300 - $171,500
Senior Platform Engineer: $162,000 - $197,100

Who We Are

Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.

What We Do

We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.

Who We Serve

Defense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.

What We Work On

  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
  • Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
  • Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
  • GitOps
  • Containers
  • CNCF projects and open source products and packages
  • Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
  • Building and improving security delivery
  • Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications

Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy

Health:

  • Medical/Dental/Vision
  • Premiums are 100% Company Paid
  • Health Reimbursement Account
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance

Financial:

  • 401k Retirement Plan
  • Company Stock Options
  • Home Office Budget

Leave:

  • Unlimited paid time off, with a mandatory 10 days off on top of 11 federal government holidays, week of Thanksgiving, last two weeks of December (including New Year’s Day)
  • Paid Parental Leave

Learning:

  • Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
  • Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)

Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed. 

At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

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