Secret Software Engineer (C++)

An aerospace and defense technology company in Boulder, CO is seeking multiple Software Engineers (T2, T3, and T4 levels) to support the continued development and modernization of mission-critical software systems within a classified environment. This team is responsible for building new capabilities, creating user stories, integrating and merging software baselines, and supporting the long-term evolution of a complex distributed system.

On a day-to-day basis, engineers will be involved in full lifecycle software development utilizing C++, Python, and Linux-based environments. The team is actively moving toward a microservices-oriented architecture and will be decoupling portions of the existing software baseline over time. While prior microservices experience is not required, candidates should have strong core software engineering fundamentals and experience developing and maintaining scalable applications.

This role offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge defense programs while collaborating closely with cross-functional engineering teams. Senior-level (T4) engineers will have the opportunity to influence technical direction, participate in software architecture discussions, mentor junior engineers, and potentially transition into future technical leadership responsibilities.

Active Secret Clearance or higher

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or another STEM-related field

T2: 2+ years of software development experience

T3: 4+ years of software development experience

T4: 9+ years of software development experience

Strong C++ development experience

Experience developing software throughout the full software development lifecycle

Python development experience

Experience working within Linux environments

Knowledge of software design principles, debugging, testing, and code reviews

Ability to work onsite in Boulder, CO Experience with message broker architectures such as ActiveMQ, ZeroMQ, RabbitMQ, Kafka, or similar technologies

Understanding of publish-subscribe (Pub/Sub) architectures and asynchronous messaging concepts

Experience developing applications that interface with message broker technologies

Experience troubleshooting or debugging distributed messaging systems

Exposure to microservices architectures

Containerization experience (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, etc.)

Experience participating in architecture reviews or technical design discussions

Experience mentoring junior engineers or serving as a technical lead

Experience supporting classified aerospace, defense, or government programs

Familiarity with Git, CMake, Conan, Nexus, or similar development tools

This is a contract to hire for a large aerospace and defense technology company in Boulder, CO and includes full benefits (Dental, health, vision, 401k, PTO + Paid Federal holidays). Compensation varies based on education and experience (expected salaries between $90-175k)