Principal Software Engineer

ETHOS - Talent & Advisory; Tacoma (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

ETHOS - Talent & Advisory is assisting a large federal systems integrator in hiring a Principal Software Engineer to lead a modernization effort across Java microservices, cloud deployment, and frontend UI work. This role combines hands-on coding with strategic architecture decisions and mentorship for junior engineers.

You will design RESTful and SOAP services, implement CI/CD pipelines, and collaborate with federal customers on Agile teams to deliver scalable, secure systems.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience with Java, Spring Boot, Angular, and React.
• Experience with one or more of Angular, React, or Node.js/Express.
• Hands-on Technical Lead experience guiding other developers.

Responsibilities

• Design and build software applications using Twelve Factor App methodology.
• Lead frontend development in Angular or React and improve developer experience.
• Design and build microservices with Spring Boot, Java, and RESTful architecture for AWS/OpenShift deployments.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Git, and Bitbucket.
• Document solution architecture using Confluence and UML artifacts.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Angular

React

Node.js/Express

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Jenkins

Git

Bitbucket

Jira

Maven

SonarQube

Job description

Our client, a large federal systems integrator supporting a major federal agency, is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to lead design and delivery on a modernization effort spanning Java microservices, cloud deployment, and frontend UI work. This is a hands on technical lead role with direct influence over architecture decisions and mentorship of junior and mid level developers.

What You Will Do

• Design and build software applications using Twelve Factor App methodology, translating functional requirements into working systems.
• Lead frontend development in Angular or React, building UI components and continually evaluating new approaches to improve developer experience and delivery speed.
• Design and build microservices using Spring Boot, Java, and RESTful architecture, deployed to Red Hat OpenShift and AWS. Own the data access layer connecting applications to PostgreSQL and DB2 using JPA or Spring Data. Develop and maintain enterprise Java batch jobs and build automated test coverage using JUnit, Mockito, and Cucumber.
• Participate in CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Git, and Bitbucket.
• Attend architecture and design discussions with the customer and provide guidance to junior and mid level developers.
• Document solution architecture using Confluence and UML based artifacts.

What You Need

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field. A Master’s or Doctorate may substitute for a portion of required experience.
• 10+ years of professional experience with Java, Spring Boot, Angular, and React.
• Extensive hands on experience with one or more of Angular, React, or Node.js/Express.
• Demonstrated experience as a hands on Technical Lead, including guiding other developers.
• Experience working on Agile teams with strong command of Agile terminology and tools.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.
• Experience designing high throughput, low latency systems and scalable solutions handling high volumes of concurrent requests.
• Experience building Single Page Applications, with attention to responsive design and cross browser compatibility.
• Experience deploying cloud native applications to AWS with PostgreSQL, and working knowledge of Red Hat OpenShift and Docker.
• Experience with modern CI/CD tooling including Jenkins, Git/Bitbucket, Jira, Maven, SonarQube, and remediating static code analysis findings.
• Experience designing RESTful and SOAP based web services, including security standards such as OAuth2/JWT.
• Experience with Test Driven Development and Behavior Driven Development using JUnit, mocking frameworks, and Cucumber.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Experience with Kafka based event driven architecture, including producers, consumers, topic design, and Kafka Streams.
• Interest in applying current AI trends to system architecture.
• Experience implementing Section 508 accessibility standards in production web applications.
• Experience writing technical white papers or systems design documentation.
• Prior experience on federal or state government IT projects.
• Familiarity with low code platforms such as ServiceNow, Pega, or Microsoft Power Platform.