CNO Software Developer

MANTECH; Columbia (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

MANTECH seeks a highly technical and mission-focused CNO Software Developer to join our team in Columbia, MD. You will develop advanced cyber network operations capabilities that directly support national security and work with a multidisciplinary team to solve complex challenges.

The role emphasizes architectural design, code quality, CI/CD, automated testing, and mentoring junior staff. You will translate mission requirements into implementable software with a focus on reliability, security,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field from an accredited college or university.
• 5+ years of technical work experience in cyber software engineering or similar technical roles (Master’s may substitute for 2 years).
• 2+ years of experience leading technical initiatives, engineering workflows, or Tech Lead roles across multiple software projects.
• Experience programming in C, C++, Go, Java, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Lead architectural design and lifecycle management of CNO capabilities, establish code quality, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks.
• Act as the primary technical liaison between stakeholders and development teams to align roadmaps with mission goals.
• Serve as SME in defensive engineering and detection mechanics, guiding telemetry integration and validation environments.
• Mentor junior staff in debugging, reverse engineering, and secure coding, and develop training curricula to bridge capability frameworks and end-user applications.
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to rapidly triage and remediate, ensuring alignment with evolving mission needs.

Skills

C

C++

Go

Java

Python

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field

Tools

Docker

Podman

ESXi

QEMU/KVM

VirtualBox

Hyper-V

Vagrant

Terraform

Ansible

IDA

Ghidra

Confluence

Jira

Crucible

Job description

MANTECH seeks a highly technical and mission-focused CNO Software Developer to join our team in Columbia, MD. In this role, you will develop advanced CNO capabilities that directly support national security. You’ll work in a collaborative environment focused on solving complex technical challenges in support of our customer’s most critical missions.

Responsibilities Include But Are Not Limited To

• Technical Strategy & Leadership: Spearhead the architectural design and lifecycle management of CNO capabilities, establishing best practices for code quality, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks to ensure mission readiness and operational efficiency.
• Strategic Product Ownership: Act as the primary technical liaison between operational stakeholders and development teams, translating mission requirements into actionable, prioritized technical roadmaps that align with P.I. goals.
• Security Engineering Oversight: Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) in defensive engineering and detection mechanics, guiding the integration of telemetry and validation environments to enhance offensive-cyber testing accuracy.
• Mentorship & Capability Development: Cultivate a culture of technical excellence by mentoring junior staff in low-level debugging, reverse engineering, and secure coding, while developing training curricula that bridge the gap between complex capability frameworks and end-user operational application.
• Operational Collaboration: Drive rapid triage and remediation efforts by collaborating across multi-disciplinary teams—including mission analysts and vulnerability researchers—to refine deployed capabilities and ensure strict alignment with evolving mission needs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a related technical field (e.g., Information Systems, Network Engineering) from an accredited college or university.
• 5+ years of technical work experience in cyber software engineering or specialized technical roles. A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline may be substituted for 2 years of experience.
• 2+ years of experience leading technical initiatives, engineering workflows, or serving as a Tech Lead across multiple simultaneous software development projects.
• Experience programming in C, C++, Go, Java, or Python.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with networking (TCP/IP) and socket-level programming
• Experience with containerization (Docker, Podman) and orchestration tools
• Hands-on experience with virtualization technologies (ESXi, QEMU/KVM, VirtualBox, Hyper-V) and infrastructure-as-code (Vagrant, Terraform, Ansible).
• Experience with automated testing and continuous integration (CI/CD) pipelines tailored for restricted software development environments
• Ability to explain complex technical requirements, systems architecture, and operational mission requirements to technical teams and non-technical leadership alike
• Ability to translate highly technical capability frameworks into digestible, impactful training curricula for customers spanning a wide spectrum of technical expertise
• Experience in low-level internals in one or more platforms (e.g., Windows, Unix, mobile, or network devices)
• Experience with reverse engineering tools (IDA/Ghidra)
• Atlassian Tools (Confluence, Jira, Crucible)
• Knowledge of CNO environment
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Software troubleshooting and debugging experience

Clearance Requirements

• Active and current TS/SCI, polygraph eligible

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time