Principal Software Developer

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next!

When it comes to what you want in your career, if you can imagine it, you can do it at Parsons. Imagine a career working with exceptional people sharing a common quest. Imagine a workplace where you can be yourself. Where you can thrive. Where you can find your next, right now. We’ve got what you’re looking for.

Job Description

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Principal Software Engineer to join our team!! In this role, you will be a part of the development of advanced systems, focusing on full life-cycle software design, implementation, optimization, and deployment. You will work alongside multidisciplinary teams to develop scalable, high-performance software solutions supporting mission-critical applications.

This position allows for a hybrid schedule but requires candidates to be local to the MD or Northern VA/DC Metro area.

What You'll Be Doing

• Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable, high-performance web services.
• Enhance existing architecture to improve system responsiveness, security, and scalability.
• Collaborate with developers, system architects, and other stakeholders.
• Advise microservices-based architectures using containerization (Docker/Kubernetes).
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment.
• Evaluate robust authentication, authorization, and security in systems best practices.
• Contribute to code reviews, integration testing, and project documentation.
• Lead and mentor software engineers through architecture designs, resilient software solutions, and verified deliverables.
• Utilize Agile/Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) methodologies for efficient software development.

What Required Skills You'll Bring

• U.S. Citizenship with an active Secret clearance and ability and willingness to obtain a TS/SCI.
• Bachelor degree in software engineering, computer science, or related technology field. 4 additional years of experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.
• Expertise in RESTful API & microservice design patterns.
• 10+ years of relevant experience with software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in RESTful web service implementations. Preferably using Python frameworks such as Django and FastAPI.
• Expertise in containerized application development and management. Preferably with a strong familiarity of Docker & Kubernetes, including deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications, as well as troubleshooting and optimizing workloads within a cluster.
• Strong understanding of database architecture, SQL, and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis).
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps practices, and automation tools (e.g., GitLab CI/CD).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) and infrastructure as code (IaC).
• Ability to communicate highly technical analyses at a level comprehensible to non-technical audiences and senior-level government representatives and corporate executives.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Strong debugging and performance optimization skills for distributed systems.

What Desired Skills You'll Bring

• Experience with message queuing technologies (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS).
• Understanding of cybersecurity best practices, encryption, and secure coding techniques.
• Familiarity with observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack).
• Experience working in Agile/SAFe development environments.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a lead or within a team of peers, as well as excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Security Clearance Requirement

An active Top Secret SCI security clearance is required for this position.

This position is part of our Federal Solutions team.

The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.

Salary Range: $120,800.00 - $217,400.00

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!

This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will continue to be posted for an average of 30 days until a qualified applicant is selected or the position has been cancelled.

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.