Software Development Engineer

The Software Development Engineer role is for someone who wants to do more than just push code and sit through meetings that could’ve been emails. (well, we have some meetings, but they are important-ish)

You’ll join a high-performing, genuinely smart (and refreshingly normal) team in Chantilly, VA, working on mission-critical systems that actually matter. This isn’t “update a button color and call it innovation” work. This is complex, meaningful engineering where what you build gets used in the real world. We’re talking: Real problems, not busywork. Real impact, not vanity metrics. Real collaboration, not “you’re on mute” energy.

And yes, one of the perks people actually care about: you can work from home two days a week. Enough flexibility to breathe, while still getting the in-person collaboration that makes good teams great.

The position is based in Chantilly with work at the Sponsor facility a minimum of three (3) days per week and two (2) days remotely.

Come build something that matters, with people who don’t make you question your life choices every Monday morning.

Position Responsibilities

You’ll be designing, building, and evolving applications using solid engineering principles and Agile methodologies that the team actually believes in. Yes, actual Agile. Not “we renamed meetings and called it transformation.”

If you like:

• Smart teammates who challenge you (in a good way)
• Work that makes you better, not just busier
• Shipping things that do something

You’ll feel right at home. You’ve spent some real time in the trenches with modern tools and don’t panic when someone says, “it’s in Kubernetes.”

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph Clearance
• Minimum 4 years of relevant experience
• A Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related discipline may be substituted for 4 years of experience. A Master’s Degree may be substituted for 6 years of experience. A Ph.D. may be substituted for 7 years of experience.
• Experience developing/deploying solutions using AWS tools and services.
• Experience working in a small team practicing Agile Methodologies.
• Codes and tests high quality software in a responsive agile team environment driven by dynamically evolving software requirements.
• Uses sound software engineering principles and practices to ensure that developed code is modifiable, efficient, reliable, understandable, and fault tolerant.
• Follows software process management and control throughout the coding portion of the software development process.
• Supports documentation, design, and process improvement activities.
• Works with well-defined problems and analyzes, designs, and implements solutions autonomously
• Leads small tasks in coordination with other technical resources.
• Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies
• Experience with AWS Cloud and AWS Certifications
• Experience enhancing software to reduce operating time or improve efficiency
• Experience developing and maintaining applications while addressing accessibility concerns
• Experience with Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)

We’re looking for experience with at least a few of these (not all, we’re not building a unicorn… yet):

• Git, Selenium, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, React, Tailwind, TypeScript, JavaScript, NestJS, Scala, Akka, FluxCD, Playwright, GoLang

Bonus points if:

• You know the difference between “it works on my machine” and “it works everywhere.”
• You’ve automated something that made you feel like a wizard for at least 3 minutes.
• You’ve willingly debugged something at 4:59 PM and lived to tell the story.
• If you don’t know every single tool listed, that’s fine. If you’re curious, capable, and can figure things out without immediately opening 47 tabs… you’ll do just fine here.

Based in California, AeroVironment (AVAV) is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Founded in 1971 by celebrated physicist and engineer, Dr. Paul MacCready, we’ve been at the leading edge of technical innovation for more than 45 years. Be a part of the team that developed the world’s most widely used military drones and created the first submarine-launched reconnaissance drone, and has seven innovative vehicles that are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection in Washington, DC.

Join us today in developing the next generation of small UAS and tactical missile systems that will deliver more actionable intelligence to our customers so they can proceed with certainty - and succeed.

What We Do

Building on a history of technological innovation, AeroVironment designs, develops, produces, and supports an advanced portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s hand-launched UAS to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition.