Principal Software Engineer – AI & Software Factory Engineering

United States Digital Space LLC; United States; Remote; USD 114,000 - 154,000; Full time

Job summary

We are GDIT, seeking a Principal Software Engineer to build platform products for AI-enabled development environments and security automation for Department of War and Federal customers.

You will contribute to enterprise-grade tooling, automation, and pipelines that drive secure software delivery, with a focus on agentic AI, automated compliance, and hardened Kubernetes in air-gapped or sensitive environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; 8+ years of related experience, or 12+ years without a degree.

Responsibilities

• Build agentic AI capabilities—tool orchestration, LLM application development, and workflow automation for daily AI-powered development.
• Develop software that automates evidence collection, compliance reporting, and policy-as-code enforcement to support cATO processes.
• Create secure-by-default CI/CD pipeline products with integrated security scanning and supply chain controls used by multiple development teams.
• Extend the platform with self-service onboarding automation, reusable deployment patterns, and AI development tools, including for air-gapped environments.
• Ship to and support production on hardened Kubernetes distributions in DoD-like environments.

Skills

Containerization

GitLab CI/CD

Kubernetes Orchestration

Software Delivery

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

Clearance LevelNoneCategorySoftware EngineeringLocationRemote, Working from the USA

Key Skills For SuccessContainerization Software

GitLab CI/CD

Kubernetes Orchestration

Software Delivery

REQ#: RQ225967

Public Trust: None

Requisition Type: Regular

Your Impact

Own your opportunity to support our nation's defense. Make an impact by connecting and securing critical operations across the globe, keeping our country safe and secure.

Job Description – Principal Software Engineer – AI & Software Factory Engineering

We're looking for a software engineer who likes building platform products — the tooling, automation, and AI capabilities other engineering teams build on top of. You'll write production code daily on a small, senior team delivering software factories, security automation, and AI-enabled development environments for Department of War and Federal customers. If your instinct when you see a manual process is to write code that eliminates it, this role is built for you.

MEANINGFUL WORK AND PERSONAL IMPACT

You'll work across multiple concurrent R&D and customer delivery efforts rather than a single narrow program, with the option to engage in proposals and customer demos if you want to build business acumen alongside technical depth

• Build agentic AI capabilities — tool orchestration, LLM application development, and workflow automation — using AI-assisted development daily
• Develop software that automates continuous Authority to Operate (cATO): evidence collection, compliance reporting, and policy-as-code enforcement
• Build secure-by-default CI/CD pipeline products — hardening templates, integrated security scanning (SAST, SCA, container, SBOM), and supply chain controls (signing, provenance, attestation) — that development teams across our portfolio consume
• Extend the platform with self-service capabilities: developer onboarding automation, reusable deployment patterns, and AI development tools (code assistants, model serving) — including for air-gapped environments
• Ship to and support production on hardened Kubernetes (Big Bang / Iron Bank) in CUI/IL5 environments — we run what we build

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO SUCCEED

• Education: Bachelor's degree and 8+ years experience. In lieu of degree 12+ years of hands-on experience
• Experience: 5+ years of related experience in Software Engineering, DevOps / DevSecOps technologies; 3+ years of hands on experience with Kubernetes
• Strong development skills in Python, Go, or similar — you build tooling and applications, not just configure them
• Daily use of AI-powered development tools (code assistants, LLM-based tooling)
• CI/CD pipeline development — GitLab CI strongly preferred; Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or similar accepted
• Security scanning integration in automated pipelines (SAST, DAST, SCA, container scanning)
• Containerization (Docker, Helm, OCI artifacts) and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform and/or Ansible)
• Git-based workflows, GitOps deployment patterns, and solid Linux fundamentals
• Experience working in or deploying to classified or air-gapped environments
• Strong written and verbal communication; comfort juggling multiple projects with shifting priorities
• Security clearance level: No clearance required to start with ability to obtain and mantain a Secret clearance
• Location: Remote with travel up to 10%
• Citizenship: US Citizenship

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Hands-on experience with agentic AI frameworks or LLM APIs (tool-use patterns, orchestration, RAG)
• Platform One / Big Bang, Iron Bank, or DoW-hardened Kubernetes distributions
• DoW security and authorization frameworks (NIST 800-53, RMF, cATO)
• Software supply chain security practices (Sigstore/Cosign, Syft, in-toto)
• AI/ML infrastructure in enterprise or air-gapped environments (model serving, GPU scheduling on K8s)
• Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certification
• Supporting proposals, RFI responses, or customer engagements as a technical SME

GDIT IS YOUR PLACE

At GDIT, the mission is our purpose, and our people are at the center of everything we do.

• Growth: AI-powered career tool that identifies career steps and learning opportunities
• Support: An internal mobility team focused on helping you achieve your career goals
• Rewards: Comprehensive benefits and wellness packages, 401K with company match, and competitive pay and paid time off
• Community: Award-winning culture of innovation and a military-friendly workplace

OWN YOUR OPPORTUNITY

Explore a career in software development at GDIT and you’ll find endless opportunities to grow alongside colleagues who share your dedication to advancing innovation.

Work Requirements

Years of Experience8 + years of related experience

• may vary based on technical training, certification(s), or degree

CertificationTravel RequiredLess than 10%

CitizenshipU.S. Citizenship Required

Salary and Benefit Information

The likely salary range for this position is $113,900 - $154,100. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.

Our Identity Verification Process

As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during virtual interviews. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud. By proceeding, you authorize the collection, processing, and use of your biometric data for identity verification and security purposes.

About Our Work

We are GDIT. A global technology and professional services company that delivers technology solutions and mission services to every major agency across the U.S. government, defense and intelligence community. Our 26,000 experts extract the power of technology to create immediate value and deliver solutions at the edge of innovation. We operate across 50+ countries worldwide, offering leading mission-ready capabilities in AI, cloud, cyber and software development.

Join our Talent Community to stay up to date on our career opportunities and events at gdit.com/tc.

*Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans*