Description

The DarkStar Group is seeking a Senior Staff Backend Software Engineer with a Top Secret clearance to join one of our top projects in Herndon, VA.  Below is an overview of the project, as well as information on our company, our benefits, and our $25,000 referral program.

THE PROJECT

The DarkStar Group's team solves unique and challenging intelligence problems for a Special Operations customer. This work is as close to the mission as a technologist can get, so the environment is fast-paced: team members face rapidly-changing requirements and priorities as mission needs evolve. If you hate monotony and want to use your skills to have a direct impact on real-world operational success, this is the project for you.

We are a multi-faceted software development and systems administration team working to build and maintain software applications backed by a self-managed cloud infrastructure (OpenStack) with a true big-data footprint (over 10 petabytes). Our diverse background of experience in mission support and software development serves as a catalyst to solve unique and challenging intelligence problems in support of special operations analysts and their on-going activities. Prototyping and frequent, iterative feedback are core to our delivery approach, anchored by a need to work quickly in support of our missions.

The technical stack is quite robust and includes Java, Python, C#, C/C++, Geospatial tools, Big Data and Graph Products (Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark, ElasticSearch, Neo4j), Linux, OpenStack, AWS, Ansible, SQL/NoSQL, Text Processing, Cloud Services, Containerization, Infrastructure as Code (IAC), and more.

Work on this program takes place in the Herndon, VA area (we cannot support remote work) and requires a TS clearance and a willingness to obtain a CI Poly: a current TS/SCI + CI Poly is preferred.

THE ROLE

The DarkStar Group is seeking a Senior Staff Backend Software Development Engineer to join our program. In this role, you will support the development and integration of various intelligence capabilities into a test and subsequently operational environment. You will be responsible for maintaining and improving the high-side automated deployment pipeline, ensuring that developers are not blocked by issues in the deployment process and participating in building solutions for the Laika mission applications systems. This position will require collaboration across multiple teams and a focus on optimizing performance and reliability.

Our team is a leader in the field of signal and image processing. This team builds innovative
software using mathematical solutions to support users in the defense and intelligence
communities. Our products and services contribute to missions in support of national
security and support efforts for the health and sustainability of our planet. Now is your chance to
amplify your impact, working to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
As an industry-leading earth observation satellite imagery provider, our program unlocks the promise
of space to help governments and businesses solve problems on Earth and beyond. We monitor
global change, deliver broadband communications, and advance space operations with capabilities in Space Infrastructure and Earth Intelligence.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Create, maintain and improve the high-side automated deployment pipeline, ensuring Jenkins jobs for backend services and front-end applications are successful and up to date.
• Create and manage Jenkins jobs for UI applications to ensure successful code builds.
• Enhance the pipeline to prevent the deployment of broken configurations in YAML or JavaScript.
• Optimize database and Rancher resources and conduct testing and tuning for improved performance.
• Troubleshoot and resolve Jenkins performance issues, ensuring build times are accurate and efficient.
• Explore options for system scalability and performance through automated load balancing.
• Develop an automated health monitoring system to detect deployment and resource issues.
• Script and automate deployments to different environments to mitigate configuration management issues of configurations
• Troubleshoot issues across the application stack when issues arise
• Work closely with devops and developers team to bridge any gap in process and communication

Required Skills

• Must have a current/active TS/SCI clearance and willing to work 5 days a week in the office.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent experience may be substituted for a degree.
• 15+ years of relevant experience in software development, ranging from work in a DevOps environment as well as full stack engineering.
• Proficiency in the following technologies:
  • Java
  • Apache NiFi workflow configuration and deployment
  • Databases such as PostgreSQL and MongoDB
  • Python and machine learning
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud-like infrastructure
• Experience with Jenkins for pipeline integration and deployment.
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies.

Desired Skills (Optional)

• Experience with load balancing and performance tuning.
• Knowledge of health monitoring tools and best practices.
• Strong troubleshooting skills with a focus on optimizing deployment processes.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills.

About The DarkStar Group

Our Company

The DarkStar Group is a small business that solves BIG problems. We're one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the US, and our engineers and scientists support the most critical national security missions in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere. Data Science, Software Engineering, Cloud/AWS Infrastructure, and Cyber/CNO are our core areas of expertise. We offer interesting and important work, job security, some of the best and most flexible benefits you'll find in the IC, and salaries so strong that they'll likely surprise you. 

Our Benefits

The DarkStar Group offers exceptional compensation and benefits:

• very strong salaries;
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for you and all dependents;
• the ability to get increased salary if you don't need medical/dental/vision;
• 100% company-paid disability and life insurance benefits;
• a generously-funded HSA;
• an 8% 401(k) contribution; 
• 31 days of PTO/holidays to start (more with tenure);
• the ability to flex time across pay periods without using your PTO;
• a generous training budget;
• $25,000 employee referral bonuses;
• business development / growth incentives; and
• top notch company swag.

** We have a huge growth opportunity, so we are offering up to a $25,000 reward for anyone new you refer whom we hire. **

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.