Senior Applications Engineer

About the role

Credence has an immediate opening for a Senior Applications Engineer who will be primarily responsible for supporting the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Automated Addressing Systems (DAAS), AI/ML program.

The Senior Applications Engineer analyzes and studies complex system requirements and leads the design and implementation of software tools and subsystems that support software reuse and domain analyses. This is a hands-on role that pairs deep applications engineering with front-end UI/UX development: you will be handed real enterprise applications with real user friction, and part of your mandate is to diagnose why users aren't engaging and rebuild experiences — interfaces, dashboards, and data visualizations surfacing AI/ML outputs — that they actually want to use. You will manage software development and support efforts using formal specifications, data flow diagrams, and other accepted design techniques and Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools, while providing reliable cost and schedule estimates to program leadership. To succeed in this role, you should combine deep hands-on engineering expertise with modern front-end skills, the ability to guide development teams, improve existing systems, and enforce disciplined configuration management practices in support of DAAS AI/ML modernization efforts.

Responsibilities

Front-End Engineering & UI/UX

• Architect and build performant, responsive, accessible (WCAG 2.1 AA) user interfaces using React/Next.js with TypeScript, HTML5, and CSS3
• Audit existing applications to identify user adoption barriers through heuristic analysis, user research, and behavioral data, and translate insights into measurable improvements in engagement and task completion
• Design and build interactive dashboards and data visualization layers (D3.js, Chart.js, or similar) that surface AI/ML outputs, analytics, and operational metrics to end users
• Develop reusable component libraries and design systems that scale across multiple products
• Leverage AI coding assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor) as a productivity multiplier within disciplined, secure development workflows

Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Mentor junior developers on the project team, raising the front-end skill level across the program
• Analyze and study complex system requirements to inform software design and implementation decisions
• Design software tools and subsystems to support software reuse and domain analyses, and manage their implementation
• Manage software development and support using formal specifications, data flow diagrams, other accepted design techniques, and Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools
• Estimate software development costs and schedule, and communicate estimates and risks to program and project leadership
• Review existing programs and assist in making refinements, reducing operating time, and improving current techniques
• Supervise software configuration management, including version control, change control, and release integrity across the development lifecycle
• Contribute to code reviews, CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, Git), artifact and dependency governance (Sonatype Nexus), and agile ceremonies (JIRA)
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, developers, analysts, and stakeholders to deliver software solutions that meet or exceed client expectations
• Document and communicate the results of your efforts

AI/ML Collaboration

• Collaborate with data engineers and ML teams to ensure AI/ML outputs are represented accurately and meaningfully in front-end dashboards and visualizations
• Develop working familiarity with the team's AI/ML tech stack sufficient to design effective interfaces around it (deep hands-on ML model development is not required)

Requirements

• US citizen with the ability to obtain a security clearance is required
• BA/BS in a technical discipline from an accredited university
• At least ten (10) years of applicable experience in applications engineering, software development, or a related discipline
• Demonstrated experience analyzing complex system requirements and designing software tools and subsystems
• Experience managing software development efforts using formal specifications, data flow diagrams, and other accepted design techniques and CASE tools
• Demonstrated ability to estimate software development costs and schedules
• Experience with software configuration management tools, systems, and processes
• Demonstrated experience developing and deploying machine learning models in operational or production environments
• Experience engineering AI-driven anomaly detection models (e.g., time-series forecasting approaches such as Prophet) to monitor API traffic or system telemetry
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in UI/UX design and front-end development, with a portfolio demonstrating measurable impact on user experience
• Proven track record of improving adoption or usability on complex enterprise or government applications — fixing existing products, not just building new ones
• Expert-level proficiency in React, Next.js, TypeScript, and HTML/CSS, with deep familiarity with WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards
• Experience with data visualization libraries (D3.js, Chart.js, Recharts, or similar) and a solid understanding of UX research methods (usability testing, journey mapping, heuristic evaluation)
• Proficiency with Git, JIRA, Jenkins, and Sonatype Nexus for artifact management, dependency governance, and secure software supply chain practices

Desired Technical Skills

Languages

• Python, Golang, C++, C, SQL, Java

Cloud & Big Data

• AWS (CLI, EC2, S3), Hadoop, Snowflake, Databricks, PySpark, Teradata, Oracle, SQL Server, Azure

Machine Learning & Analytics

• XGBoost, SVM, Random Forest, kNN, Cosine Similarity, NLP, Alteryx, AWS SageMaker, Tableau

Tools/Frameworks

• Git, GitHub, Flask, NodeJS, ReactJS, Next.js, TypeScript, D3.js, Chart.js, Recharts, REST API, Django, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Jenkins, JIRA, Sonatype Nexus, GitHub Copilot/Cursor

Desired Certifications

• AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty
• CompTIA Security+ ce
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect

Pay

Salary Range: $150,000 - $180,000 annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on the selected candidate's experience, education, certifications, skills, and overall qualifications.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Training & Development
• Free Food & Snacks
• Wellness Resources
• Stock Option Plan