Principal Lead Software Engineer Cloud-Native 2–4 Projects

Saic; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC in Colorado Springs, CO is seeking a Principal Lead Software Engineer to lead software design, development, and testing across 2–4 mission-critical projects in a rapid prototyping environment.

The role balances hands-on coding with team leadership, setting software development standards, and guiding secure, scalable cloud-native solutions using Kubernetes, Kafka, and microservices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field with 15+ years of software development; or Master’s with 13+ years.
• 7+ years in back-end (Python, Java, C#, Go) and/or front-end (React, Angular, Vue.js, HTML5/CSS3) development.
• Expertise in cloud-native architecture across multi-cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, DAF Cloudworks, GCP).
• Proficient with Git, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm for DevSecOps.
• Experience building RESTful/GraphQL APIs, microservices, event-driven (Kafka, RabbitMQ).
• CI/CD automation with testing, security scanning, and deployment workflows.
• Knowledge of testing tools (JMeter, Selenium, Jest).
• Leadership: 3+ years leading software teams on 2–4 projects; 3+ years govt/defense experience; strong stakeholder collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead software design, development, and testing for 2–4 mission-critical projects with on-time delivery.
• Define software requirements, architecture, and deliverables with stakeholders.
• Guide teams in cloud-native apps, web front ends, and scalable back ends using Agile methods.
• Act as escalation point; conduct code reviews and ensure alignment with goals.
• Collaborate across DevSecOps, software, and data to build secure pipelines with Kubernetes, Kafka, and microservices.
• Standardize software development practices across projects and improve tools/workflows.
• Promote secure development practices, including vulnerability scanning and continuous testing.
• Contribute hands-on by writing code and delivering architectural proofs of concept.

Skills

Backend languages

Frontend frameworks

Cloud-native architecture

DevSecOps tools

APIs & microservices

CI/CD automation

Testing tools

Leadership

Govt/defense experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering

Master’s degree

Tools

Git

Jenkins

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Helm

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Job description

SAIC in Colorado Springs, CO is seeking a Principal Lead Software Engineer to lead software design, development, and testing across 2–4 mission-critical projects in a rapid prototyping environment.

The role balances hands-on coding with team leadership, setting software development standards, and guiding secure, scalable cloud-native solutions using Kubernetes, Kafka, and microservices.