Software Systems Engineer

Saic; Hanahan (SC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking a Software Systems Engineer to own full stack development and maturation of a government prototype as it moves toward a Program of Record for our customer site in North Charleston, SC.

The role emphasizes secure, scalable system design, integration of heterogeneous hardware and software, and DoD compliance through RMF/ATO processes, with active experience in Go, Python, React, and Rust.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a technical field.
• 5+ years of work experience or 4 years in lieu of a degree.
• Proficiency in Go and Python with system integration experience.
• Experience maturing prototypes into production-grade systems.
• Knowledge of secure coding practices and DoD compliance.

Responsibilities

• Develop distributed, secure, reliable systems for degraded, bandwidth-limited, autonomous environments.
• Build and maintain backend services and frontend apps; harden prototypes to meet DoD standards.
• Implement secure data pipelines, RMF/ATO support, and CI/CD security practices.
• Design segmented networks, real-time communications, hardware integration, modular deployments.
• Create user-centric tools for tactical use, diagnostics, air-gapped provisioning, scalable solutions.

Skills

Go

Python

React

Rust

AI coding tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

4+ years experience in lieu of degree

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Description

SAIC is seeking a Software Systems Engineer to own full stack development and technical maturation of a government software prototype as it transitions from research/prototype status to a Program of Record (PoR) for our customer site in North Charleston, SC.

Job Duties:

• Resilient System Design:Develop distributed systems for secure, reliable operation in degraded, bandwidth-limited, and autonomous environments.
• Full-Stack Development:Build and maintain backend services, frontend applications, and infrastructure, hardening prototypes to meet DoD security, scalability, and operational standards.
• Data Security & Compliance:Implement secure data pipelines and protocols, ensure RMF compliance, support ATO accreditation, and follow secure development practices like container hardening and CI/CD security.
• Networking & Integration:Design segmented networks, real-time communications, hardware integration, and modular deployments for mission-critical applications.
• Operational & Mission Support:Create user-centric tools for tactical use, diagnostics, air-gapped provisioning, and deliver scalable, mission-aligned engineering solutions.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelors and five (5) years or more work experience; (4) four years of additional work experience accepted in lieu of degree.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Go, Python.
• Systems Integration Experience:Demonstrated ability to integrate heterogeneous hardware, communications links, containerized software services, and data pipelines into a unified, operationally deployable system. Preferably experience with multi-transport networking, pub/sub architectures, edge-to-cloud data federation, and API/protocol translation across diverse sensor or platform types.
• Active, hands-on use of AI development tools (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar AI coding assistants) as part of daily engineering work.
• Practical experience with cybersecurity-conscious software engineering — secure coding practices, vulnerability remediation, container/infrastructure hardening, or similar.
• Experience taking prototype/research-grade code and maturing it into a production, supportable system.

Required Security Clearance:

• Must be a US Citizen, no clearance required to start but must be able to obtain and maintain an active Secret clearance.

Desired Qualifications:

• Direct experience supporting an ATO package (SSP development, control implementation, POA&M management, eMASS).
• Experience with containerization/orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD pipeline security.
• Familiarity with DoD software acquisition processes and prototype-to-Program-of-Record transitions.
• Experience with cloud environments (AWS GovCloud or similar) in an accredited/compliance-driven context.
• Prior experience in a DoD, IC, or other federal contracting environment.
• Proficiency with React and Rust.
• Familiarity with the general lifecycle of moving a system through security accreditation (RMF, ATO, or equivalent commercial/compliance frameworks), prior direct ATO experience is a strong plus but not mandatory.