Tech Lead – Principal Software Engineer

Novul Solutions; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO & Floating days

11 Paid Holidays

Bi-monthly payroll

401(k) 3% match

Quarterly recognition awards

Health insurance (UnitedHealthcare PPO

Medical/Dental/Vision/HSA

Tuition reimbursement

Parking stipend $150/month

Performance bonus

Yearly company bonus

Job summary

Novul Solutions in Arlington, VA seeks an experienced Tech Lead – Principal Software Engineer to guide architecture, delivery, and multiple Agile teams in mission-critical TS/SCI environments. You will blend hands-on software engineering with leadership, DevSecOps, and DevOps practices to deliver secure, scalable systems.

You will mentor senior engineers, own delivery outcomes, and partner with product owners and cybersecurity to align roadmaps with mission priorities, while advancing

Qualifications

• Active DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance required.
• 12+ years of relevant experience; additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Proven experience leading multiple engineering teams and delivering complex, mission-critical enterprise software systems.
• Strong hands-on background in Agile full-SDLC software development, including design, development, testing, integration, deployment, production release, and sustainment.
• Experience building DevOps pipelines using Bitbucket, Git/GitHub/GitLab, Jenkins, Artifactory, and Ansible.

Responsibilities

• Lead Agile software engineering teams and translate mission priorities into technical plans, milestones, and sprint goals.
• Design, develop, and integrate secure APIs, data pipelines, and scalable software solutions.
• Build and manage automated CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Ansible, Git, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Artifactory.
• Implement DevSecOps, automated testing, observability, security controls, and full-SDLC practices.
• Own delivery outcomes across multiple Agile teams ensuring quality, security, and mission alignment.

Skills

Leadership

Agile

DevSecOps

Mentoring

Communication

Architecture

Stakeholder management

Security

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Jira

GitLab

Bitbucket

Artifactory

Ansible

Jenkins

Terraform

PowerShell

Job description

Job Description

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Tech Lead – Principal Software Engineer to lead architecture, software delivery, and engineering teams supporting mission-critical environments.

This role combines hands‑on software engineering with technical leadership, DevSecOps, Agile delivery, and team development. The ideal candidate has experience delivering secure, scalable systems and leading engineering teams in high-tempo Top Secret/SCI environments.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead Agile software engineering teams and translate mission priorities, backlog items, and customer needs into technical plans, milestones, and sprint goals.
• Design, develop, and integrate secure APIs, structured/unstructured data pipelines, and scalable software solutions using Python, Java, JavaScript, SQL/PSQL, YAML, and Terraform.
• Build and manage automated CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Ansible, Git, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Artifactory.
• Implement DevSecOps, automated testing, observability, security controls, infrastructure automation, and full-SDLC practices across Development, Test, QA, and Production environments.
• Manage software release/version control and ensure consistent, secure, and reliable promotion of software throughout the product lifecycle.
• Define long-term technical strategy, architecture, engineering standards, governance, and development best practices across multiple teams.
• Serve as a senior technical authority and escalation point for complex cross‑team and cross‑domain engineering challenges.
• Drive engineering excellence in security, reliability, performance, maintainability, CI/CD, and automated testing.
• Lead, mentor, and develop senior engineers and technical teams, including performance management, career development, succession planning, recruiting, onboarding, and retention.
• Own delivery outcomes across multiple Agile teams, ensuring quality, predictability, security, and mission alignment while driving continuous improvement through Jira or equivalent tools.
• Balance near‑term delivery with long‑term modernization, technical debt reduction, and architectural investments.
• Partner with product owners, program leadership, business stakeholders, cybersecurity, infrastructure, operations, and mission partners to align priorities, roadmaps, and execution.
• Identify and resolve delivery risks, dependencies, architectural constraints, and resource challenges.
• Communicate technical vision, architecture, risks, progress, and recommendations to senior leadership and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and guide the responsible adoption of generative AI and AI‑assisted engineering tools.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications:

• U.S. Citizen with an active DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree and 12+ years of relevant experience; additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Proven experience leading multiple engineering teams and delivering complex, mission‑critical enterprise software systems.
• Strong hands‑on background in Agile full‑SDLC software development, including design, development, testing, integration, deployment, production release, and sustainment.
• Strong experience with DevSecOps, automated testing, CI/CD, release management, configuration management, and version control.
• Experience building DevOps pipelines using Bitbucket, Git/GitHub/GitLab, Jenkins, Artifactory, and Ansible.
• Development experience with Python, Java, JavaScript, SQL/PSQL, YAML, and Terraform.
• Experience with Java Full Stack, Gradle, PowerShell, Oracle 19c, web services, and APIs.
• Experience managing Agile delivery and project tracking using Jira or equivalent tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor senior technical staff and operate effectively in a high‑tempo TS/SCI environment.
• Strong leadership, communication, documentation, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.

Benefits

Core Benefits:

• Paid Time OffPTO):TEN (10) Paid days off & FIVE (5) Floating days off.
• Holidays: 11 Paid Holidays. Flex time can be utilized instead of holiday time usage.
• Payroll: Paid Bi-Monthly.
• 401(k): Partnered with the SECOND LARGEST Retirement plan provider in the U.S. Guaranteed 3% match. Eligibility - 21 years of age or older, after 3 months of employment
• Individual or company‑wide performance and recognition awards (Quarterly)

Health Benefits:

• UNITED HEALTHCARE PPO, extensive national coverage.
• INCLUDES: Medical/Dental/Vision/HSA.
• Eligible on the first of the month, immediately after the start date.
• Submit the enrollment form within 30 days of your start date otherwise, you will have to wait until October for the new year enrollment.

Quality of Life Benefits:

• Training & Career Development Reimbursement of Tuition and training needed to support career development.
• $150 monthly reimbursement contribution paid monthly towards parking expenses.
• Receipts must be submitted by the close of business on the 25th of each month.
• Reimbursements will be paid on the first payroll AFTER reimbursements are submitted each month.

Special Benefits:

• Performance bonus – Project‑based
• Yearly bonus – Company based