Senior Software Engineer: Space Systems & DevSecOps

Johns-Hopkins-University-Applied-Physics-Laboratory; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 105,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, and maintain critical software for national security space missions in a TS/SCI environment. You will build scalable, secure, and observable systems for space operations, data processing, mission planning, and multi-domain integration tools.

The role emphasizes DevSecOps, cloud-native architectures, and secure development in classified environments.

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
• 5+ years of full software engineering experience including design, requirements, configuration, and defect tracking.
• Strong proficiency in Java/Spring Boot, Python, or C++ or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend services, APIs, and data pipelines for space operations software.
• Build and maintain containerized applications with full CI/CD pipelines.
• Integrate security controls throughout the development lifecycle (DevSecOps).
• Develop and optimize distributed systems with messaging and event-driven architectures.
• Ensure applications meet compliance requirements for classified environments (air-gapped, RMF).
• Monitor and improve performance and observability in production-like environments.
• Collaborate via code reviews and mentor on modern practices.

Skills

Distributed systems

DevSecOps

Cloud-native

REST APIs

Git workflows

Team collaboration

Top-Secret clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Applied Mathematics

Master's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Docker/Podman

Kubernetes

GitLab CI / GitHub Actions / Jenkins

Job description

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, and maintain critical software for national security space missions in a TS/SCI environment. You will build scalable, secure, and observable systems for space operations, data processing, mission planning, and multi-domain integration tools.

The role emphasizes DevSecOps, cloud-native architectures, and secure development in classified environments.