Senior Software Engineer - Open Source (RD217)

defenseunicorns; United States; Remote; USD 149,000 - 201,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

100% company-paid premiums

HSA

Life and disability insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Stock options

Home office budget

Flexible Time Off

Job summary

defenseunicorns is seeking a software engineer to operate at the intersection of open source stewardship, product development, and technical execution.

The role focuses on building, maintaining, and contributing to cloud native software with direct impact on mission outcomes, while engaging upstream communities and partner ecosystems.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Go, with willingness to learn TypeScript and contribute across languages such as Rust.
• Strong understanding of system design, Kubernetes, and cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, or similar).
• Experience contributing to open source projects and communities (CNCF, ASF, OpenSSF a plus).
• Familiarity with Kubernetes concepts including controllers, operators, and CRDs.
• Strong communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal engineers and open source contributors on features, bug fixes, reviews, and releases.
• Engage with communities, industry partners, and standards bodies through Slack, GitHub, and other platforms, including facilitating community meetings.

Skills

Go

TypeScript

Rust

Kubernetes

Cloud Architecture

Open Source

Tools

GitHub

Slack

CI/CD

Job description

Role overview

Operate at the intersection of open source community stewardship, product development, and technical execution. The role focuses on building, maintaining, and contributing to cloud native software with direct impact on mission outcomes, while engaging upstream communities and partner ecosystems.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal engineers and open source contributors on features, bug fixes, reviews, and releases.
• Engage with communities, industry partners, and standards bodies through Slack, GitHub, and other platforms, including facilitating community meetings.
• Produce case studies, blog posts, and conference presentations that amplify project visibility.
• Resolve ambiguity across product requirements, community needs, and upstream constraints.
• Build secure, interoperable cloud native software and contribute improvements back to upstream projects.
• Own architecture decisions, mentor engineers, and maintain documentation such as design proposals, contribution guides, and user guides.

Requirements

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Go, with willingness to learn TypeScript and contribute across languages such as Rust.
• Strong understanding of system design, Kubernetes, and cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, or similar).
• Experience contributing to open source projects and communities (CNCF, ASF, OpenSSF a plus).
• Familiarity with Kubernetes concepts including controllers, operators, and CRDs.
• Strong communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.

Benefits and work setup

• Remote role based in the United States with 5-15% travel expected.
• Compensation range of $148,750-$201,250 USD based on candidate experience.
• Health, dental, and vision coverage with 100% company-paid premiums; HSA; life and disability insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan, company stock options, and home office budget.
• Flexible Time Off plus federal holidays, paid parental leave, and reimbursement for approved trainings and conferences.