Lead software engineer

Why choose between doing meaningful work and having a fulfilling life? At MITRE, you can have both. That's because MITRE people are committed to tackling our nation's toughest challenges—and we're committed to the long-term well-being of our employees. MITRE is different from most technology companies. We are a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world. Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE - and make a difference with us.

Department Summary:

Do you want to develop software systems that contribute to solving our nation’s most critical problems? Do you want to work alongside engineers and scientists that are experts in their fields? Are you passionate about best practices for delivering the highest quality software solutions?

We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world.

At MITRE you will leverage your background and experience to make a difference in tangible, impactful problems that face our nation. You’ll work on diverse projects that support our Government sponsors and benefit from numerous learning and growth opportunities.

Our workplace reflects our values. We want you to continue to grow your career at MITRE so that you can experience the gratifying work, our competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities, and a culture of innovation that embraces flexibility, collaboration, and career growth.

Roles & Responsibilities:

MITRE is seeking a Senior Full Stack Engineer to support high-priority ODNI initiatives requiring secure, scalable, and mission-driven application development. This role requires an active TS//SCI with a Full Scope Polygraph.

The selected candidate will serve as a technical subject matter expert responsible for designing, developing, and deploying full stack applications within highly sensitive Intelligence Community environments. This position supports enterprise-level ODNI challenges related to technology modernization, data integration, analytic enablement, and secure collaboration. Responsibilities include:

• Collaborate directly with ODNI sponsors and MITRE technical teams to translate complex mission requirements into scalable application architectures.
• Design, develop, and deploy secure front-end and back-end solutions within classified environments.
• Deliver modern software capabilities, improving architecture, platforms, and developer workflows with strong engineering practices (secure coding, reviews, testing, maintainable design).
• Partner with UX, Architecture, Data, Security, and Operations to define technical strategy and influence roadmaps with a customer-centric mindset.
• Lead or support development of enterprise-grade applications addressing cross-IC integration, data visualization, workflow automation, and analytics.
• Develop and maintain robust APIs, database schemas, and backend services supporting high-performance, secure applications.
• Ensure performance, reliability, and security of deployed systems.
• Implement scalable architectures aligned with DevSecOps and Infrastructure-as-Code principles.
• Present technical solutions clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Mentor junior developers and contribute to department-wide technical standards and tradecraft.

The primary responsibilities of this position must be carried out in person in McLean, Virginia or Bethesda, Maryland. The successful candidate will establish regular presence at MITRE and ODNI locations and may be required to travel within the National Capital Region.

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 6 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years’ experience or equivalent combination of related education and work experience. The individual should be able to immediately contribute to this job step
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering.
• Active TS//SCI clearance with a Full Scope Polygraph (required at time of hire).
• Per the U.S. Government’s eligibility requirements, you must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.
• Demonstrated experience as a Full Stack Developer or similar engineering role in secure environments.
• Proficiency in front-end and back-end languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, or Go.
• Proficiency writing SQL queries, data transformations, and designing database schemas.
• Entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and the curiosity to explore and push the boundaries of software development and software solutions
• Ability to work in Agile development environments with strong documentation practices
• Ability to work in Agile development environments with strong documentation practices
• This position has an on-site requirement of 5 days a week on-site

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in a technical discipline (including but not limited to Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, etc.)
• Experience with geospatial applications/stacks, preferably with open-source or ESRI geospatial development experience.
• Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks such as React, Vue, Angular and HTMx.
• Experience developing web applications with different architectures including server-side rendering (SSR), single page applications (SPAs), and hybrid applications (interactive islands pattern).
• Experience with UI-first rapid prototyping and development approaches.
• Experience with CSS frameworks such as Tailwind or Material Design-based libraries.
• Experience with server-side technologies and database systems such as PostgreSQL.
• Experience working within Linux-based environments, including command line and shell scripting.
• Experience using version control systems (Git) and managing code reviews and releases.
• Experience developing applications within Intelligence Community or ODNI environments.
• Expertise in one or more front-end technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or TypeScript.
• Expertise in one or more back-end languages such as Python, Go, or Full Stack TypeScript/JS.
• Experience with AWS-managed services and cloud-native architectures.
• Experience producing high-quality software documentation and design artifacts.
• Familiarity with alternative JavaScript runtimes such as Bun or Deno.
• Experience implementing SecDevOps pipelines in classified environments.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

Top Secret/SCI/Polygraph

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$156,800 - $196,000 - $235,200 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.

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