Systems Software Engineer

PEMCCO; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 94,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Paid Time Off

Paid Holidays

Employee Assistance Program

Other company-sponsored benefits

Job summary

PEMCCO is seeking a Systems Software Engineer to support the development, modernization, and integration of secure software systems for federal programs. You will analyze source code, trace data flows, understand database engine processing, and implement changes across relational and graph databases, identity platforms, cloud environments, and supporting infrastructure.

This highly technical role requires deep experience in systems programming, cloud technologies, secure development, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/IT or related field.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a CI Polygraph.
• Experience with one or more modern languages such as C, C++, Rust, Go, Java, or Python.
• Experience with Agile software development.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and deploy secure, scalable applications using C, C++, Rust, Go, Java, Python, or Node.js.
• Design and implement high-performance system components.
• Analyze database engine code and network protocols.
• Develop relational and graph database solutions (PostgreSQL, Neo4j).
• Deploy and monitor cloud-hosted software with IaC.

Skills

Software development languages

Systems programming concepts

Agile methodologies

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/IT or related field

Tools

PostgreSQL

Neo4j

Redis

Elasticsearch

AWS

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

Pay: $68.43 - $115.91 hourly, depending on experience

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Other company-sponsored benefits

Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI clearance required; must be eligible for and able to obtain a Counterintelligence (CI) Polygraph

Certifications: Agile Developer or Certified Scrum Developer certification and CompTIA Security+ (or higher)

Are you a software engineer who wants to understand how systems work beneath the application layer? Do you enjoy analyzing source code, tracing network communications, understanding database internals, and solving complex engineering challenges?

PEMCCO is seeking a Systems Software Engineer with expertise in systems programming and database engineering to support mission-focused government programs. This role goes beyond traditional application development and database administration. You will work directly with database engines, communication protocols, operating system interfaces, cloud platforms, and identity services to develop, integrate, and enhance secure software solutions.

This position is ideal for engineers with experience in systems programming, database engineering, software integration, cloud technologies, and secure application development who enjoy understanding how complex systems behave and interact across an integrated technology stack.

About PEMCCO

PEMCCO delivers engineering, technology, cybersecurity, and mission support services to federal government customers. Our teams develop and sustain secure, innovative solutions that support critical government operations and mission success.

Job Overview

PEMCCO is seeking an experienced Systems Software Engineer to support the development, modernization, and integration of secure software systems.

In this role, you will analyze source code, trace data flows and network communications, understand database engine processing, and implement software changes that support evolving mission requirements. You will work across relational databases, graph databases, identity platforms, cloud environments, and supporting infrastructure while collaborating with cybersecurity, infrastructure, and mission stakeholders.

This is a highly technical position for engineers who can reason through complex software behavior, troubleshoot issues across multiple layers of a technology stack, and confidently work within unfamiliar codebases and protocols.

What You'll Do

• Develop, maintain, test, and deploy secure, scalable applications and services using C, C++, Rust, Go, Java, Python, or Node.js.
• Apply systems programming principles, particularly in C, C++, and Rust, to develop high-performance, reliable software components.
• Develop software supporting process creation, monitoring, control, and inter-process communication.
• Build concurrent and multithreaded applications utilizing synchronization, signal handling, memory management, and resource-control techniques.
• Design, implement, and troubleshoot networked applications using sockets, client-server architectures, and applicable network protocols.
• Analyze database engine source code, communication protocols, request and response formats, serialization methods, and packet layouts.
• Trace requests through database engine code to identify processing logic, integration points, and operational impacts.
• Develop relational data-storage solutions using SQL, including data modeling, query development, performance tuning, and access control.
• Develop and integrate graph database solutions supporting relationship-based data modeling, analysis, and retrieval.
• Work across relational databases, graph databases, object storage, and search/indexing technologies including PostgreSQL, Redis, RxDB, Neo4j, Amazon S3, and Elasticsearch.
• Refactor and modernize existing services, including transitioning functionality from Python to other implementation languages where appropriate.
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions to provision, configure, and manage environments through repeatable, version-controlled workflows.
• Deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot cloud-hosted software, including dependencies on compute, storage, networking, identity, and security services.
• Integrate applications with identity providers to support authentication, authorization, federation, single sign-on, and identity-aware access control.
• Implement OpenID Connect (OIDC) integrations, including token validation, claims processing, client registration, redirect flows, session management, and secure API access.
• Incorporate Zero Trust Architecture principles into software designs and implementations.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, infrastructure, data, and mission stakeholders to integrate security controls, cryptographic protections, logging, monitoring, and auditability throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Produce and maintain software designs, interface specifications, deployment procedures, configuration baselines, security implementation details, and operational support materials.

What You Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, Information Systems, Mathematics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a CI Polygraph.
• Experience supporting Intelligence Community or other federal government programs.
• Strong software development experience using one or more modern programming languages such as C, C++, Rust, Go, Java, or Python.
• Experience with systems programming concepts, including process management, concurrency, multithreading, inter-process communication, and memory management.
• Experience developing or troubleshooting networked applications and client-server systems.
• Experience with relational databases, SQL, and database design concepts.
• Ability to analyze and modify complex codebases and troubleshoot problems across multiple layers of a system.
• Experience with Agile software development methodologies.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and technical documentation skills.
• Security+ (or higher) certification.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with database internals or database-engine development.
• Experience with PostgreSQL, Neo4j, Redis, Elasticsearch, or similar technologies.
• Experience with cloud technologies such as AWS or AWS GovCloud.
• Experience with Kubernetes, OpenShift, Terraform, or Ansible.
• Experience implementing OIDC, SSO, identity management, or Zero Trust architectures.
• Experience supporting classified or mission-critical environments.
• Experience with protocol analysis, packet captures, serialization technologies, or low-level communications.
• Experience with cryptographic services, PKI, HSMs, or PKCS #11 integrations.
• Advanced degree in a related technical field.

Why Join PEMCCO?

• Support meaningful national security and government missions.
• Solve challenging engineering problems involving systems programming, databases, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and software development.
• Work with cutting-edge technologies across software engineering, identity management, cloud computing, data platforms, and cybersecurity.
• Collaborate with highly skilled engineers, architects, cybersecurity professionals, and mission stakeholders.
• Expand your expertise across multiple technical disciplines while contributing to critical programs.

Work Environment

• Full-time onsite position supporting the development and modernization of complex software systems.
• Collaborative team environment focused on software engineering, database technologies, cloud platforms, and infrastructure automation.
• Opportunities to work across multiple technology domains, including systems programming, networking, dataplatforms, identity services, and cybersecurity.
• Fast-paced environment with challenging technical problems and opportunities for continuous learning and professional growth.

Benefits

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Additional company-sponsored benefits

Equal Opportunity Employer

PEMCCO, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. The Company does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.