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Lead Software Engineer

$180K–$220K

Arlington, VA +3 · Full-time · Posted Oct 2, 2026

Location: Arlington, VA
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Woburn, Massachusetts, United States
Experience: 8+ years of relevant experience; equivalent experience will be considered.
Education: BS degree in a scientific field such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or Physics; equivalent experience will be considered.
Visa sponsorship: U.S. citizenship is needed by the U.S. government for the ability to obtain a security clearance.

About the job

Operationalizes Python-based machine-learning and computer-vision algorithms by integrating them into resilient, user-focused software systems and pipelines for national security programs.

What you'll do

Translate stakeholder requirements into deployable AI/ML system features; develop user-facing features and backend architectures.
Build and test messaging systems and distributed data-processing workflows; optimize data ingestion, transformation, and storage/retrieval.
Improve distributed-system reliability and performance, and collaborate across programs to mature prototypes into operational capabilities.

What they ask for

Strong proficiency in Python and ability to produce clean, high-quality code.
Familiarity with software development practices including Git, CI/CD testing at scale, and agentic coding best practices.
BS degree in a scientific field such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or Physics, or equivalent experience.
Ability to obtain a security clearance; U.S. citizenship is needed by the U.S. government.

Nice to have

Experience with messaging or real-time processing tools such as RabbitMQ, Kafka, or ZeroMQ, and integration of computer-vision algorithms and image-processing tools.
Experience leading research initiatives, working in large cross-functional distributed teams, US Government software accreditation processes, or holding an active security clearance.

Pay

$180,000 - $220,000 (USD, base salary)

Tools

Python, Git, CI/CD, RabbitMQ, Kafka, ZeroMQ, Pytorch, OpenCV

AI focus

Integrates Python-based machine-learning pipelines and computer-vision algorithms into operational AI/ML systems for national security applications.

Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative