Lead Software Engineer

National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation; Virginia; On-site; USD 156,000 - 211,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer-funded pension

401(k)

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision coverage

Generous paid leave

Onsite fitness center

Job summary

National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation seeks a Lead Software Engineer to provide technical leadership for cloud-native applications and modernization of on-premises systems into container-based microservices and micro frontends. You will guide architecture from design through production delivery, including frontends, backends, APIs, and data stores.

You will lead teams across Azure, define standards, mentor engineers, and ensure security and compliance throughout the SDLC,

Qualifications

• Educational requirements: Bachelor's degree in computer science or related technical field.
• Minimum experience: 9–11 years delivering enterprise software across full SDLC; 7+ years with Azure-based solutions.
• Licensure or certifications: Azure Cloud Certifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical modernization of roadmap by migrating on-premises monoliths to cloud-hosted microservices.
• Own end-to-end solution architecture and hands-on development on Azure.
• Mentor engineers through design/code reviews to ensure quality and compliance with IT standards.
• Establish architecture standards, patterns, and reusable components for container-based workloads.

Skills

Thought Leadership

Strategic Thinking

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Analytical Skills

Troubleshooting

Organizational Leadership

Solution-Oriented

Accountability

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related

Azure Cloud Certifications

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Job description

The Lead Software Engineer provides technical leadership for the design, development, and delivery of cloud-native applications. This role implements technical direction for modernizing legacy, on-premises applications into container-based, event-driven microservices and micro frontends, guiding development teams from architecture through production delivery. This role leads to end-to-end solution design across Angular/React frontends, microservice backends, internal APIs, third-party services, and SQL Server data stores, ensuring alignment with business needs and engineering standards.

Essential Tasks and Responsibilities

Manages the technical modernization of roadmap, defining phased migration strategies for moving on-premises monolithic applications to cloud-hosted microservices while reducing technical debt, infrastructure cost, and operational risk.

Leads end-to-end solution architecture and hands-on development on Microsoft Azure, selecting appropriate services, including platform-as-a-service offerings.

Provides technical expertise across development teams, coordinates dependencies, resolves complex design and delivery issues, and mentors' engineers through design and code reviews to ensure quality and compliance with IT standards.

Establishes architecture standards, integration patterns, and reusable components for container-based and event-driven workloads and guides consistent adoption across development teams.

Guides adoption of AI-assisted, spec-driven development practices to accelerate design, implementation, testing, and documentation while maintaining architectural rigor and code quality.

Embeds DevSecOps practices throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC), integrating automated security scanning, policy-as-code, and vulnerability and dependency management into continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.

Leads proofs of concept to evaluate technical options, validate design approaches, and inform implementation decisions before full-scale delivery.

Partners with business stakeholders to translate needs into technical solutions and clearly communicate architectural recommendations, trade-offs, and delivery implications.

Maintains technical documentation, architecture diagrams, and design decision records to support implementation, knowledge sharing, and ongoing operations.

Leads resolution of complex production issues across distributed services, including troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions that improve reliability and reduce recurring incidents.

Minimum Job Qualifications

Educational Requirements: Bachelor's degree in computer science, or related technical degree

Minimum Experience: Nine (9) to eleven (11) years of progressive software development experience delivering enterprise applications across the full SDLC, including seven (7) years of hands-on experience architecting and delivering Microsoft Azure solutions using container-based and/or serverless compute services.

Licensure or other certifications: Azure Cloud Certifications.

Preferred Job Qualifications

Preferred Experience: Experience with financial services or similarly regulated systems preferred.

Preferred Licensure or other certifications: Azure Certification (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Developer Associate) preferred.

Skills

Thought Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Analytical Skills, Troubleshooting (Problem Solving), Organizational Leadership, Solution-Oriented, Accountability

This position requires occasional travel with some off-work hour work.

Additional Information

The expected base salary range for this position is $156,000 - $211,000, with the final offer determined based on factors such as experience, scope of the role, and demonstrated skills and competencies. In addition to base pay, CFC offers a comprehensive Total Rewards package, including an annual incentive opportunity, designed to support employees' well-being and long-term success. Benefits include an employer-funded pension plan, 401(k), medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a generous paid leave program. Employees also have access to an onsite fitness center and a collaborative, professional work environment. Learn more at www.nrucfc.coop . CFC is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.