Senior Software Engineer

This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

Who we are:

Raft ( https://TeamRaft.com ) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in McLean, VA. Our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We're looking for an experienced Senior Software Engineers to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers.
About the role:

This is an exciting opportunity for Senior Software Engineer with experience in AI/ML prototyping and modern software architectures. You will be responsible for designing and developing software solutions for AI-based capabilities, maintaining existing applications, and optimizing performance. Typical duties include developing front-end and back-end components, implementing CI/CD pipelines, collaborating with data scientists and UX designers, and ensuring compliance with security and performance standards. This role is contingent on contract award.
What we are looking for:

• Bachelor's degree plus 7-10 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 5 years of experience.
• Programming experience with Python, JavaScript, and at least one more programming language (Java is preferred).
• Experience with front end frameworks like React or Vue. Experience with backend runtimes and frameworks like Node.js, Spring, Spring Boot, Django, Flask, etc.
• Experience with Agile software development methodologies, tools, and providing leadership to other developers operating within an Agile framework.
• DevSecOps experience including the use of Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) Tooling (Git runners, code scanning tools)
• Experience with containerization and use of Kubernetes
• Familiarity with Object Relational Modeling persistence frameworks (e.g. SQLAlchemy), and
  with PostgreSQL
• Familiarity with the use of ElasticSearch/OpenSearch, and Neo4J as persistent stores
• Well versed in modern software architectures like micro-services as well as front-end frameworks.
• Strong communications skills: you will be required to proactively engage fellow CDAO members both inside and outside of your team.
• Ability to synthesize requirements underlying feature requests, recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and facilitate engineering efforts to meet aggressive timelines.
• Highly preferred: DoDD 8140 IAT Level III certification.

Major Duties/Tasks:

• Designs and develops software requirements for multiple Artificial Intelligence based support capabilities including the software architectures, APIs, frameworks, and libraries.
• Develops front end and backend of software prototypes, components, and tooling that can be leveraged to speed prototyping process.
• Maintains and guides the development of common libraries and tools used by multiple teams.
• Maintains the existing code base of in-production applications, performing bug fixes, updates of code and component libraries to meet security and performance needs as required, and capability enhancements as planned in the sprint schedule.
• Works closely with clients and requirements owners to build out product lines.
• Develops plans, road maps, software design strategies. Analyze and decomposes activities and requirements to software designs that are allocated across systems components/sub components.
• Aids in formulating a strategy on how to achieve rapid prototyping of AI capabilities, including Generative AI.
• Works with data scientists, UX designers, cognitive scientists, developers, and testers to compose cohesive and sound software designs that form the basis of scalable AI solutions.
• Documents requirements and specifications and reviews documentation provided by other teams and vendors.
• Optimizes software designs and architectures to deliver desired performance targets and devises tooling and methodologies to profile execution and capture performance metrics.
• Stays informed on latest AI system and software architectures and trends from design patterns to DevSecOps and systems architecture patterns.
• Captures, develops, and reports reference architectures and documenting compliance standards.

Clearance Requirements:

• Active TS security clearance with SCI eligibility

Salary Range:

• $140,000 - $190,000
• The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities

Work Type:

• McLean, VA
• May require up to 10% travel

What we will offer you:

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
• Education & training benefits
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs
• Remote, hybrid, and flexible work options
• Team off-site in fun places!
• Generous Referral Bonuses
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.

Raft's core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are. We support our "nadi" by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.

We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.