Staff Software Engineer

Raft; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully covered healthcare

401(k) with company match

Generous PTO and paid holidays

Job summary

Raft, a leader in defense tech based in Arlington, VA, is hiring a Staff Software Engineer to build mission-critical data platforms for the Department of War. The role involves designing fault-tolerant data systems and managing ETL processes with a salary range of $140,000 - $190,000. Applicants should have 7+ years of experience, especially with streaming technologies like Kafka and Flink. A hybrid working model is offered with competitive benefits including fully covered healthcare and generous PTO.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience with fault-tolerant, data-intensive platforms.
• Knowledge of software architecture and design patterns.

Responsibilities

• Build data infrastructure using streaming technologies.
• Develop and manage ETL pipelines.
• Implement large-scale applications using software engineering principles.

Skills

Data infrastructure building

Streaming applications development

ETL processing

Database management

Kubernetes deployment

Software design patterns

Tools

Apache Kafka

Flink

PostgreSQL

MySQL

MongoDB

Elasticsearch

Helm Charts

Job description

This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

We are a customer-obsessed non-traditional defense tech company dedicated to empowering U.S. military and government agencies with cutting-edge AI/ML and data solutions. We are a leader in autonomous data fusion and Agentic AI, with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development. With headquarters in McLean, VA, our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

About the role

Raft is building mission‑critical data platforms for the Department of War that process billions of events per day from hundreds of sensors and operational sources, delivering intelligence to operators who use it to make time‑sensitive decisions. Our platform runs across multiple classification levels and deployment environments. We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join our team.

What you will do

• Build data infrastructure and platforms using streaming frameworks such as Apache Kafka, Flink, and Kafka Streams
• Build Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) pipelines to enable comprehensive data operations
• Leverage software engineering principles to architect, develop, and implement large‑scale streaming applications

What we are looking for

• 7+ years of relevant industry experience
• Experience with building and managing fault‑tolerant, data‑intensive platforms using popular streaming technologies such as Kafka, Pinot, or Flink
• Experience with large‑scale relational and non‑relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch to handle low‑latency requirements
• Experience in data management including ETL processing, data governance, and data storage
• Experience with building and deploying software in cloud‑native environments
• Experience diagnosing and resolving container deployment issues within Kubernetes environments
• Experience using a variety of package managers/dependency managers including Maven, Gradle, and NPM
• Deep knowledge of software design and architecture patterns
• Obtain Security+ certification within the first 90 days of employment with Raft

Highly preferred

• Experience with Kubernetes
• Experience with monitoring (Prometheus, Grafana) and logging (Fluentbit, Kibana, Loki) solutions in cloud‑native environments
• Solid understanding of Helm Charts
• Experience or knowledge of service mesh technologies, such as Istio
• Experience with supporting enterprise Cloud applications or infrastructure
• Experience in automation languages like Python or GoLang

Clearance Requirements

• Active Secret Clearance to start and ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret

Salary Range

$140,000 - $190,000

The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities.

Work Type

• Hybrid in Rome, NY, Hanscom, or NCR (National Capital Region)
• Domestic travel up to 35% to customer sites

What we will offer you

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
• And More!

We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.