Senior Software Engineer

About the role

Austin, Hybrid

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join Thales in Austin, TX, serving as a senior technical leader in the design, evolution, and governance of core software products supporting state and law enforcement agencies.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across cross-functional teams to define, design, and evolve complex software solutions for law enforcement products, primarily within cloud-based environments.
• Lead the full software development lifecycle at a systems and architecture level, guiding requirements analysis, solution design, implementation approaches, validation strategies, and long-term maintainability of core products.
• Deploy, configure, and validate core products and solutions in cloud environments, ensuring alignment with architectural guidelines and operational requirements.
• Define and enforce engineering best practices, coding standards, and design patterns to ensure the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-quality software across multiple projects and teams.
• Drive resolution of complex, high-impact technical issues, including performance, scalability, and reliability challenges, performing root-cause analysis and defining sustainable corrective actions.
• Continuously evaluate emerging technologies, tools, and industry trends, recommending and driving adoption where appropriate to advance product capabilities, security posture, and development efficiency.
• Partner with engineering leadership, and project design authority team to translate business, customer, and regulatory requirements into coherent technical architectures and implementation strategies.
• Lead and influence technical reviews with the technical board, including architecture and code reviews, providing expert guidance and decision-making to ensure consistency, quality, and long-term product health.
• Establish and maintain authoritative technical documentation, including architecture descriptions, reference designs, and technical standards, to support product scalability and knowledge transfer across teams.
• Operate as a recognized technical expert, collaborating with Software Engineers and Architects to guide technical direction while remaining hands-on.
• Provide technical leadership and subject-matter expertise in sales and bid activities, shaping solution architectures, assessing feasibility and risk, and contributing to competitive, compliant proposals.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8 to 12 years of progressively responsible experience in software engineering, demonstrating expert-level application of software engineering principles, system design, and development lifecycles.
• Recognized expertise in modern software development, including advanced object-oriented and service-oriented design, using languages and frameworks such as Java, Angular, and/or React to deliver complex, mission-critical systems.
• Advanced scripting and automation expertise (e.g., PowerShell, Bash) to support large-scale deployment, integration, and operational efficiency.
• Extensive hands-on experience leading deployment, integration, and configuration of complex software solutions in both on-premises and cloud environments (AWS and/or Azure), including infrastructure-as-code and orchestration tools such as Ansible, Terraform, and Helm.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical leadership for software integration and deployment of complex, multi-component systems across teams or programs.
• Proficiency in version control and enterprise-scale development workflows, including Git and Bitbucket, with experience influencing branching, release, and quality practices.
• Deep expertise in secure software design and development, including application security, authentication and authorization mechanisms, and protection of sensitive data both in transit and at rest.
• Thorough understanding of software development methodologies, including Agile and Waterfall, with the ability to select and adapt practices based on program complexity and delivery needs.
• Expert knowledge of web API design principles, including scalability, usability, performance, and security considerations.
• Advanced understanding of server-side application architecture, including scalability, resiliency, fault tolerance, and long-term maintainability.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts, influence stakeholders, and guide teams without formal authority.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with a demonstrated ability to diagnose complex, high-impact technical issues and define sustainable, cost-effective solutions.
• Demonstrated pragmatic and strategic technical judgment, balancing quality, risk, cost, and delivery while guiding engineering decisions in ambiguous or evolving environments.
• Advanced knowledge of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and applied security best practices, particularly within identity management, authentication, authorization, and secure system design.