Full Stack Engineer - Innovation & Rapid Prototyping

Kentro; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

401k including employer match

Career development

Job summary

Kentro in McLean, VA is seeking a Full Stack Engineer to design and prototype cloud-enabled, full-stack solutions that become reference architectures for federal and enterprise customers. You will own prototypes from backend to frontend, work across AI/LLM tooling and cloud services, and collaborate with infrastructure and platform teams to ensure scalable, secure deployments.

This hands-on role emphasizes rapid prototyping, learning new platforms quickly, and delivering working solutions that

Qualifications

• Hands-on full-stack development across backend and frontend.
• Experience architecting cloud-native solutions and reference architectures.
• Familiarity with API-first design and modern tooling.

Responsibilities

• Design and prototype innovative full-stack solutions and APIs.
• Write high-quality, maintainable code across the development lifecycle.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, secure deployments.
• Apply AI/ML concepts and modern automation to enhance solutions.
• Mentor engineers and evangelize new capabilities across Kentro.

Skills

Full stack development

Cloud-native architecture

API-first design

Prototyping

Languages: Python/JS/Java

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IS/Engineering

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Terraform

ServiceNow/Salesforce familiarity

Job description

Overview

Thank you for considering IT Concepts dba Kentro, where innovation drives opportunity and collaboration leads to success. Our dynamic community of experts is fully committed to advancing our customers' missions, fostering professional growth, and making a positive impact on our communities.

By joining our supportive community, you will find that Kentro is dedicated to your personal and professional development. Together, we can drive meaningful change, spark innovation, and achieve extraordinary milestones.

Kentro is hiring a Full Stack Engineer to support our Innovation team - an engineer with a strong foundation in software development and solution architecture who thrives in writing code, designing and building technical solutions, and experimenting with new technologies, while understanding how applications operate on modern cloud platforms.

You’ll design and prototype innovative, cloud-enabled solutions that evolve into reference architectures for enterprise adoption. You’ll collaborate with infrastructure experts who own our platform and IaC foundations, so your solutions are deployable, maintainable, and scalable - your focus stays on building the solutions themselves.

The Role

You’ll take a vague customer problem on Monday and demo a working prototype by Friday. Some of what you build gets thrown away; the best of it becomes reference architecture Kentro takes to federal customers. You’ll work across AI/LLM tooling, cloud-native services, and whatever the problem demands.

This role is for engineers who want to stay hands‑on - you’ll spend most of your time building, not reviewing, and you’ll own prototypes across the full stack, from backend services through the frontend that demos them.

Location

Hybrid, McLean, VA

Compensation Range

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $165,000 - $185,000 annually and reflects Kentro’s good‑faith expectations at the time of posting. Final compensation is determined based on the role’s requirements, relevant skills, experience, education, certifications, work location, applicable security clearance requirements, market conditions, internal equity, and contract requirements.

This Job Description reflects the primary duties of the role; however, it is not intended to be all‑inclusive. Team members may be asked to take on additional responsibilities in alignment with customer expectations, business needs, and Kentro’s culture of collaboration and adaptability.

Responsibilities

Focus: Solution Engineering, Application Development, Rapid Prototyping

• Design and prototype innovative full-stack solutions - backend services, APIs, and the frontend interfaces that consume them - that translate high-level challenges into working proofs of value and provide guidance to mature them into production-ready solutions.
• Write high-quality, maintainable code and contribute to all phases of the development lifecycle.
• Communicate complex technical topics clearly through demos, documentation, and technical discussions with existing and potential customers, virtually and in-person.
• Design decoupled, API‑first environments using cloud‑native services (AWS, Azure, or GCP) to support a seamless flow between headless backends and diverse frontend consumers.
• Integrate and extend enterprise platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, Salesforce, Databricks, and cloud ecosystems) to deliver connected, intelligent services. Prior experience with these specific platforms is not required - what matters is the ability to learn an unfamiliar platform quickly and get to a working integration.
• Build reference implementations, reusable accelerators, and automation patterns that scale innovation beyond individual projects.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams to embed innovation practices, mentor engineers, and evangelize new capabilities across Kentro.
• Collaborate with our infrastructure and platform teams - who own IaC, deployment pipelines, and observability tooling - to ensure your solutions fit effectively within the existing cloud and infrastructure landscape.
• Understand and apply architecture and security best practices from inception.
• Actively participate in the evaluation of new software, platforms, and solutions.
• Demonstrate exceptional problem‑solving skills and deal effectively with ambiguity. Be self‑sustained in your ability to dig into complex issues, rapidly learn new technologies, and apply them directly to problems or opportunities.
• Apply AI/ML concepts, data‑driven logic, and modern automation approaches - including LLM APIs, RAG patterns, and AI‑assisted development tooling - to enhance and optimize solutions.

Preferred Responsibilities

• Develop end‑to‑end prototype applications to demonstrate emerging technology value in practical, mission‑aligned ways.
• Evaluate and recommend new tools, frameworks, and platforms that improve developer productivity or support innovative solution patterns.
• Create technical guidance, playbooks, and architectural patterns that support developers and platform teams.
• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code concepts and tools (Terraform, Ansible, Azure Resource Manager, etc.) sufficient to keep prototypes reproducible and to collaborate effectively with platform engineers.
• Work within architecture frameworks (TOGAF, DODAF) to plan, document, and/or model systems at an enterprise level.
• Experience with database design, operation (CRUD), and optimization across multiple types of databases.
• Evaluate, champion, and define adoption strategies for emerging technologies that align innovation with enterprise architecture, security, and compliance frameworks - offering genuine competitive advantage, organizational efficiency, and value.
• Develop whitepapers and playbooks that contribute to our knowledge base and provide guidance on complex technical issues facing our customers and industry.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, with 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong, current coding experience in modern languages (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, Go, C#, or similar) - this is a hands‑on, full‑stack building role covering both backend services and modern frontend development.
• Enterprise Implementation Success - Proven track record delivering large‑scale, complex system integrations and operational optimizations across multi‑vendor environments.
• Headless Architecture Expertise - Strong technical understanding of decoupled architectures, API‑first methodologies, and cloud‑native infrastructure.
• Ability to design and build scalable applications and services using cloud‑native concepts.
• Rapid learner across platforms - Demonstrated ability to pick up an unfamiliar enterprise platform or technology quickly and deliver a working integration; you’ll regularly work with systems you’ve never touched before.
• Technical breadth - Strong foundational understanding of how solutions interact across cloud providers (Azure, AWS, GCP, etc.), with the ability to collaborate effectively with cloud engineering teams.
• Integration understanding - Experience building and maintaining platform‑to‑platform integrations.
• Security-minded - Demonstrated ability to incorporate architectural and security best practices early in the development lifecycle.
• Creative thinker - A track record of leveraging technology in novel ways to create distinguished and impactful business solutions.
• Exceptional communication skills, written and verbal, with a proven ability to translate high‑level direction into actionable, effective solutions.
• Ambitious, self‑sustained, and highly motivated - continually driven to learn and able to autonomously complete projects with little supervision.

Clearance Requirement

• US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card)
• Willing and able to obtain and maintain Public Trust Clearance or higher

Show Us What You've Built

With your application, please include a link to something you've built - a public GitHub repo, an open‑source contribution, a live demo, a side project, or a product you shipped. We care more about what you’ve made than how your resume reads. If your best work is proprietary, a short description of what you built and your specific role in it is also acceptable.

Benefits

The Company

We believe in generating success collaboratively, enabling long‑term mission success, and building trust for the next challenge. With you as our partner, let’s solve challenges, think innovatively, and maximize impact. As a valued member of our team, you have the unique opportunity to work in a diverse range of technology and business career paths, all while supporting our nation and delivering innovative technology solutions. We are a close community of experts that pride ourselves on creating an environment defined by teamwork, dedication, and excellence.

Industry Recognition

Growth | Inc 5000’s Fastest Growing Private Companies, DC Metro List Fastest Growing; Washington Business Journal: Fastest Growing Companies, Top Performing Small Technology Companies in Greater D.C.

Culture

We hold three ISO certifications (27001:2013, 20000-1:2011, 9001:2015), two CMMI ML 3 ratings (DEV and SVC) and CMMC Level 2 Certification.

Benefits

We offer competitive benefits package including paid time off, healthcare benefits, supplemental benefits, 401k including an employer match, discount perks, rewards, and more. We invest in our employees – Every employee is eligible for education reimbursement for certifications, degrees, or professional development. Reimbursement amounts may fluctuate due to IRS limitations. We want you to grow as an expert and a leader and offer flexibility for you to take a course, complete a certification, or other professional growth and networking. We are committed to supporting your curiosity and sustaining a culture that prioritizes commitment to continuous professional development.

We work hard; we play hard. Kentro is committed to incorporating fun into every day. We dedicate funds for activities – virtual and in‑person – e.g., we host happy hours, holiday events, fitness & wellness events, and annual celebrations. In alignment with our commitment to our communities, we also host and attend charity galas/events. We believe in appreciating your commitment and building a positive workspace for you to be creative, innovative, and happy.

Commitment Equal Opportunity Employment & VEVRAA

Kentro is an equal opportunity employer. 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 or local law.

Kentro is strongly committed to compliance with VEVRAA and other applicable federal, state, and local laws governing equal employment opportunity. We have developed comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure our hiring practices align with these requirements.

As part of our VEVRAA compliance efforts, Kentro has established an equal opportunity plan outlining our commitment to recruiting, hiring, and advancing protected veterans. This plan is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure its effectiveness.

We encourage protected veterans to self-identify during the application process. This information is strictly confidential and will only be used for reporting and compliance purposes as required by law. Providing this information is voluntary and will not impact your employment eligibility.

Our commitment to equal employment opportunity extends beyond legal compliance. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace where all employees, including protected veterans, are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness.

Accommodations

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. If you need to discuss reasonable accommodations, please email [e-mail].