Staff Software Engineering Manager (TS/SCI) {S}

About the role

This position is for a Staff Software Engineering Manager. ARKA-Mission Applications is seeking a talented and motivated Software Engineering Manager to join our growing team.

Responsibilities

• Management & Leadership (Approx. 25% on average):
  • Lead & Mentor: Manage, coach, and mentor a team of software engineers, fostering their technical and professional growth, by providing career advice and helping with program technical guidance.
  • Collaboration: Work closely with software engineering organization and other engineering program teams to align priorities, define requirements, and ensure successful project delivery across programs.
  • Hiring & Onboarding: Participate in the recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and retention of engineering talent for your team and the broader organization.
• Technical Contribution (Approx. 75% on average):
  • Hands-on Development: Actively participate in the software development lifecycle, contributing high-quality, well-tested, and maintainable code to key projects using our tech stack up to and including Proven proficiency in one or more modern programming languages such as Python, Java, C#, Go.
  • Technical Design & Architecture: Contribute to technical design discussions, architectural decisions, and long-term technical strategy.
  • Code Quality: Participate actively in code reviews, ensuring adherence to coding standards, best practices, and high-quality engineering principles.
  • Stay Current and Mentor: Keep abreast of modern technologies, tools, and development practices, advocating for improvements where appropriate. Leverage this continuous learning to mentor and provide technical direction to your software team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience in a formal or informal leadership capacity (e.g., Tech Lead, Team Lead, mentoring junior engineers, project leadership)
• 8+ years of professional software development experience, delivering complex, scalable applications
• Solid experience developing backend services and APIs using at least one common language and framework (e.g., Node.js/Express/NestJS, Python/Django/Flask/FastAPI, Java/Spring Boot/Quarkus, C#/.NET Core, Ruby/Rails, Go/Gin)
• Experience designing and interacting with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) using SQL and familiarity with ORMs/query builders
• Familiarity with core concepts and services of at least one major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Strong understanding of software development principles, data structures, algorithms, and API design (especially REST)
• Experience or familiarity with various database concepts such as relational structure as well as NoSQL structure concepts in tools such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles, data structures, algorithms, and system design
• Experience with modern software development methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Kanban)
• Experience with version control systems such as Git and the associated tooling to for modern software version control
• Experience with CI/CD pipeline development, testing, and deployment of software application to cloud platforms such as AWS
• Adequate communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills
• Strong problem-solving and analytical abilities
• A genuine passion for both technology and people leadership
• Ability to effectively balance management responsibilities with individual technical contributions

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience directly managing software engineers, including performance management cycles
• Experience working in a modern software company with experience in the execution of government development programs
• Experience contributing to architectural decisions

Pay

Pay Range: $150,000 - $190,000

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical/vision/dental insurance packages
• Company contributions to qualified HSA accounts
• 401k retirement plan with industry leading company contributions
• 13 paid holidays
• Annual bonus program based on company and employee performance
• Company paid life insurance, AD&D, Short-Term and Long-Term disability insurance
• 4 weeks paid Parental Leave
• Employee assistance program (EAP)

Location

Being situated at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Aurora provides opportunities to enjoy all the beautiful nature that Colorado has to offer, while also being a 20-minute drive from downtown Denver and 15-minutes to the Denver International Airport.