Software & Platform Engineer

Kentro; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Healthcare benefits

401(k) with employer match

Employee discounts

Job summary

Kentro is hiring a Software & Platform Engineer in the McLean, VA area. The role blends hands-on software development with platform architecture to design and prototype cloud-enabled solutions that scale across enterprise environments.

Responsibilities include building API-first systems on cloud platforms, implementing IaC, and advancing observability. The position offers a hybrid work model with competitive pay and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale integrations and optimizations across multi-vendor environments.
• Strong understanding of decoupled API-first architectures and cloud-native infrastructure.
• Proficiency in Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, Go, or C#.
• Ability to translate high-level requirements into technical designs.

Responsibilities

• Focus: Solution Engineering, Application Development, Platform Architecture.
• Design and prototype full-stack or service-based solutions for production-ready value.
• Communicate complex topics clearly via demos, docs, and discussions with customers.
• Design decoupled, API-first environments using cloud-native services (AWS, Azure, GCP) to support seamless flow between backends and frontend clients.
• Write high-quality, maintainable code and contribute to all phases of the development lifecycle.
• Drive Infrastructure as Code maturity to ensure reproducibility, scalability, and version control.
• Assist with observability and tracing to monitor health of decoupled systems and predict bottlenecks.
• Integrate major platforms like ServiceNow, Salesforce, Databricks into cloud ecosystems.
• Build reference implementations and automation patterns to scale innovation across projects.
• Partner with teams to embed innovation, mentor engineers, and evangelize new capabilities.
• Apply architecture and security best practices from inception within cloud or owned infra.
• Evaluate new software and platforms to stay ahead of technology trends.

Skills

Full-stack development

API-first design

Cloud architecture

DevOps

Infrastructure as Code

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related field

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Azure Resource Manager

Prometheus

Datadog

OpenTelemetry

Job description

Overview

Thank you for considering IT Concepts dba Kentro, where innovation drives opportunity and collaboration leads to success. Our dynamic community of experts is fully committed to advancing our customers' missions, fostering professional growth, and making a positive impact on our communities. By joining our supportive community, you will find that Kentro is dedicated to your personal and professional development. Together, we can drive meaningful change, spark innovation, and achieve extraordinary milestones.

Kentro is hiring for a Software & Platform Engineer to support our Innovation Department within Corporate Services, with a strong foundation in software development and solution architecture. This role is ideal for engineers who thrive in writing code, designing, architecting, and building technical solutions, and experimenting with new technologies — while also understanding how applications operate on modern cloud platforms. You’ll design and prototype innovative, cloud-enabled solutions that evolve into reference architectures for enterprise adoption. While you’ll collaborate with infrastructure experts, you will apply a working knowledge of cloud architectures, DevOps concepts, and IaC patterns to ensure that your solutions are deployable, maintainable, and scalable. This position blends hands‑on software engineering with architectural thinking, making it an excellent fit for developers with platform engineering awareness and an interest in growing into a Solution Architect role.

Location: Hybrid, McLean, VA

Salary Range: The salary for this position is between $165,000 – $185,000 annually. Factors affecting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience, and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

Responsibilities

• Focus: Solution Engineering, Application Development, Platform Architecture
• Design and prototype full-stack or service-based innovative solutions that translate high-level challenges into working proofs of value and provide guidance to mature them into production-ready solutions.
• Communicate complex technical topics clearly through demos, documentation, and technical discussions with existing and potential customers virtually and in-person.
• Design decoupled, API-first environments using cloud-native services (AWS, Azure, or GCP) to support a seamless flow between headless backends and diverse frontend consumers.
• Write high-quality, maintainable code and contribute to all phases of the development lifecycle.
• Comprehend and assist with driving Infrastructure as Code (IaC) maturity (using tools like Terraform, Ansible, Azure Resource Manager, etc.) to ensure the platform is reproducible, scalable, and version-controlled.
• Assist with implementing comprehensive observability and distributed tracing (using tools like Prometheus, Datadog, OpenTelemetry, etc.) to monitor the health of complex, decoupled systems and predict bottlenecks.
• Integrate and extend major enterprise platforms (ServiceNow, Salesforce, Databricks, and cloud ecosystems) to deliver connected, intelligent services.
• Build reference implementations, reusable accelerators, and automation patterns that scale innovation beyond individual projects.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to embed innovation practices, mentor engineers, and evangelize new capabilities across Kentro.
• Understand and apply architecture and security best practices from inception. Ensure solutions fit effectively within existing cloud or owned infrastructure landscape.
• Actively participate in the evaluation of new software, platforms, and solutions.
• Demonstrate exceptional problem-solving skills and deal effectively with ambiguity. Be self‑sustained in your ability to dig into complex issues, rapidly learn and apply new technologies directly to problems or opportunities.

Preferred Responsibilities

• Develop end-to-end prototype applications to demonstrate emerging technology value in practical, mission-aligned ways.
• Evaluate and recommend new tools, frameworks, and platforms that improve developer productivity or support innovative solution patterns.
• Apply AI/ML concepts, data‑driven logic, and modern automation approaches to enhance and optimize solutions.
• Create technical guidance, playbooks, and architectural patterns that support developers and platform teams.
• Work within architecture frameworks (TOGAF, DODAF) to plan, document, and/or model systems at an enterprise level
• Experience with Database design, operation (CRUD calls), and optimizations across multiple types of databases.
• Evaluate, champion, and define adoption strategies for emerging technologies that align innovation with enterprise architecture, security, and compliance frameworks that offer genuine competitive advantage and organizational efficiency, and drive value.
• Develop whitepapers and playbooks that contribute to our knowledge base and provide guidance and understanding of complex technical issues facing our customers and industry.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (BA/BS) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Enterprise Implementation Success – Proven track record delivering large scale, complex system integrations and operational optimizations across multi‑vendor environments.
• Headless Architecture Expertise – Strong technical understanding of decoupled architectures, API‑first methodologies, and cloud‑native infrastructure.
• Strong coding experience in modern languages (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, Go, C#, or similar).
• Ability to design and build scalable applications and services using cloud‑native concepts.
• Exceptional communication skills, writing and verbal.
• Exceptional problem solver with a proven ability to handle complex technical challenges and translate high‑level direction into actionable, effective solutions.
• Ambitious and self‑sustained highly motivated self‑starter who is continually driven to learn and autonomously complete projects with little supervision.
• Platform versatility with hands‑on experience working across multiple major enterprise platforms like ServiceNow, Salesforce, Databricks, and Cloud Services.
• Technical breadth with strong foundational understanding how solutions interact across cloud providers (Azure, AWS, GCP, Oracle, etc.), with the ability to collaborate effectively with cloud engineering teams.
• Integration understanding with building and maintaining platform‑to‑platform integrations.
• Security‑minded with demonstrated ability to incorporate architectural and security best practices early in the development lifecycle.
• Creative thinker with a track record of leveraging technology in novel ways to create distinguished and impactful business solutions.
• Technical understanding of system architecture, lifecycle, scalability, sustainability, and cost.
• Ability to translate high‑level requirements into technical designs and coded solutions.

Benefits

We offer competitive benefits package including paid time off, healthcare benefits, supplemental benefits, 401k including an employer match, discount perks, rewards, and more. We invest in our employees – Every employee is eligible for education reimbursement for certifications, degrees, or professional development. Reimbursement amounts may fluctuate due to IRS limitations. We want you to grow as an expert and a leader and offer flexibility for you to take a course, complete a certification, or other professional growth and networking. We are committed to supporting your curiosity and sustaining a culture that prioritizes commitment to continuous professional development.

Commitment Equal Opportunity Employment & VEVRAA

Kentro is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Kentro is strongly committed to compliance with VEVRAA and other applicable federal, state, and local laws governing equal employment opportunity. We have developed comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure our hiring practices align with these requirements.

As part of our VEVRAA compliance efforts, Kentro has established an equal opportunity plan outlining our commitment to recruiting, hiring, and advancing protected veterans. This plan is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure its effectiveness.

We encourage protected veterans to self-identify during the application process. This information is strictly confidential and will only be used for reporting and compliance purposes as required by law. Providing this information is voluntary and will not impact your employment eligibility.

Our commitment to equal employment opportunity extends beyond legal compliance. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace where all employees, including protected veterans, are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness.

Accommodations

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. If you need to discuss reasonable accommodations, please email [e-mail].