Senior Software Engineer, Strategic Defense
Costa Mesa · Huntsville · Irvine · Reston · Seattle · Washington · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00) · USD 191,000-292,000 · 8-12 years experience · Posted Oct 11, 2026
At a glance
- Experience
- 8-12 years experience
- Location
- Costa Mesa · Huntsville · Irvine · Reston · Seattle · Washington · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00)
- Salary
- USD 191,000-292,000 · Base salary
About the role
- As a Software Engineer in Strategic Defense, you will write code side-by-side with elite peers to solve a wide variety of problems involving networking, autonomy, systems integration, robotics, and more.
- You will craft cutting-edge, end-to-end systems that redefine mission success for major strategic capabilities by working hand-in-hand with powerhouse teams in AI, Edge Hardware, Space Solutions, Networking, and Test Engineering.
Responsibilities
- Own software solutions that are deployed to customers at the edge of innovation and necessity
- Write code to improve robust C2 products and scale mission capabilities to broaden our impact
- Collaborate across multiple engineering teams to plan, build, and test functionality of complex systems
- Partner with end-users to turn needs into features quickly while balancing user experience and engineering constraints
- Travel 10 - 30% with the team to build, test, and deploy capabilities in the real world where they’re needed most
Requirements
- 8-12+ years writing production software in languages like C++, Rust, Go, or Python that real users or systems depend on
- You've owned a feature or service end-to-end including design, implementation, deployment, and dealing with it when it breaks
- You've debugged problems in code you didn't write and systems you didn't design
- You're comfortable making engineering decisions with incomplete requirements and revisiting them when reality disagrees
- You can explain technical tradeoffs to people who aren't software engineers (operators, hardware engineers, customers)
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
Preferred qualifications
- A desire to work on critical software that has a real-world impact
- Exposure to robotics, distributed systems, networking, or real-time systems
- Experience with mid and upper tier Air Defense Command and Control (C2) programs
- Have worked where software touches physical hardware
- Experience building software solutions involving significant amounts of data processing and analysis
- Degree in a relevant field like Computer Science, Math, or Physics
- Willing to travel up to 20% to Asia Pacific
Benefits
- Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers
- Top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including comprehensive, competitive benefits package available at little to no cost to employees supporting health, recovery, and whatever comes next
Workplace
- Travel 10 - 30% with the team to build, test, and deploy capabilities in the real world
- Willing to travel up to 20% to Asia Pacific
Skills
- C++
- Rust
- Go
- Python
- C2
- Robotics
- Distributed Systems
- Networking
- Real-Time Systems
- Air Defense Command And Control
