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Founding Full Stack Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC

Full Stack Engineer

Bethesda, MD · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

Ability to Obtain Public Trust We are seeking a highly skilled Full Stack Engineer to build and modernize the NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) systems. The role ...

Full Stack Engineer

Bethesda, MD · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

Ability to Obtain Public Trust We are seeking a highly skilled Full Stack Engineer to build and modernize the NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) systems. The role ...

Full Stack Engineer

Bethesda, MD · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

Ability to Obtain Public Trust We are seeking a highly skilled Full Stack Engineer to build and modernize the NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) systems. The role ...

We are looking for a Founding Engineer to join the team as we build out a product that will help to ... That may include: * 5+ years of experience as a full-stack developer ideally working at at B2B ...

The role involves designing, developing, and deploying full stack applications in secure environments, while leading technical efforts and mentoring junior engineers. Responsibilities : • Serve as ...

Full-Stack Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Full-Stack Developers at CapTech are part of a capable, highly-motivated community who strive to continuously learn the latest tools and architectures to deliver innovative solutions for our clients.

As a Senior Full Stack Engineer at Citian, you'll be expanding current projects and innovating new solutions within transportation. You will have at least 5+ years of experience developing and ...

Senior Full Stack Engineer

Washington, DC · On-site

$150 - $250/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

We are looking for a Senior Full Stack Engineer to help build user-facing and backend capabilities for advanced AI-enabled applications. This role will work across frontend interfaces, backend ...

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Full Stack Engineer (Remote)

Washington, DC · Remote

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Full Stack Engineer (US - Remote) Position summary We are seeking a highly skilled Full Stack Engineer to design, develop, deploy, and maintain modern cloud-hosted and cloud-native applications ...

Full-Stack Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Full-Stack Developers at CapTech are part of a capable, highly-motivated community who strive to continuously learn the latest tools and architectures to deliver innovative solutions for our clients.

New

Full Stack Engineer

Arlington, VA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

Job#: 3042158 Full Stack Engineer Location: Arlington, Virginia (Onsite) Candidates must be able to obtain and/or maintain a Department of Defense --TS/SCI clearance as a condition and continuation ...

Full Stack Engineer

Washington, DC

$80K - $120K/yr

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

We're looking for a Full Stack Engineer who's eager to grow fast, think big, and build products that make a difference, improving the experience of thousands of caregivers and families. You'll work ...

Showing results 21-40

Founding Full Stack Engineer information

See Washington, DC salary details

$50.4K

$152.6K

$215.8K

How much do founding full stack engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 18, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding full stack engineer in Washington, DC is $152,641.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $125,700.00 and $179,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a founding full stack engineer?

A Founding Full Stack Engineer is an early, core technical team member at a startup who is responsible for building both the front-end and back-end of the company's product. This role goes beyond typical engineering, often involving product decisions, architecture design, and collaborating directly with the founders. Founding Full Stack Engineers help shape the company's culture, technical direction, and can have significant equity stake. Their work is crucial in taking the business from idea to launch, often in a fast-paced, resource-limited environment.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a founding full stack engineer?

To thrive as a Founding Full Stack Engineer, you need expertise in both front-end and back-end development, deep knowledge of programming languages like JavaScript, Python, or Ruby, and experience with scalable architectures, often backed by a degree in computer science or equivalent experience. Familiarity with frameworks (React, Node.js, Django), version control systems (Git), cloud platforms (AWS, GCP), and DevOps practices is typically required. Strong problem-solving, initiative, adaptability, and excellent communication distinguish successful candidates, enabling effective collaboration in a startup environment. These skills and qualities are crucial for building robust products rapidly and influencing the company's technical direction from its early stages.

What unique challenges might a founding full stack engineer face when joining an early-stage startup?

As a Founding Full Stack Engineer at an early-stage startup, you'll often balance building core product features with setting up foundational technical infrastructure. This role typically requires wearing multiple hats, from architecting systems and writing code to making critical technology decisions and collaborating closely with non-technical founders. You may encounter challenges such as ambiguous requirements, shifting priorities, and limited resources, but you'll also have significant influence over the company's technical direction. The dynamic environment encourages rapid learning and offers accelerated career growth, particularly for those who thrive in fast-paced, collaborative settings.

What is the difference between Founding Full Stack Engineer vs Full Stack Engineer?

AspectFounding Full Stack EngineerFull Stack Engineer
CredentialsTypically requires proven full stack development experience, sometimes with startup or early-stage company involvementRequires relevant full stack development skills, often with formal education or certifications
Work EnvironmentEarly-stage startups or founding teams, often wearing multiple hatsEstablished companies or startups, focused on project delivery
Employer & Industry UsageFounding teams, startups, tech entrepreneursTech companies, agencies, startups, corporate IT teams

Founding Full Stack Engineers are key players in early-stage startups, often involved in building core products from scratch and shaping company technology. Full Stack Engineers work across various company sizes, focusing on developing and maintaining applications. The main difference lies in the startup environment and level of involvement in founding the company.

Full Stack Engineer

Guidehouse

Bethesda, MD • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement

Re-posted 25 days ago


Guidehouse rating

8.0

Company rating: 8.0 out of 10

Based on 28 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

33rd of 72 rated business consultants


Job description

Job Family:
Software Development & Support
Travel Required:
None
Clearance Required:
Ability to Obtain Public Trust
We are seeking a highly skilled Full Stack Engineer to build and modernize the NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) systems. The role centers on the MeSH Editing System (MEDIT) and the public MeSH Browser, and on migrating legacy ColdFusion/Oracle applications to a modern MEAN-stack architecture. The ideal candidate has deep hands-on experience across Node.js/Express, Angular/TypeScript, MongoDB, PostgreSQL/Oracle, and Elasticsearch, with extensive Selenium-based test automation and mature, security-conscious DevOps and data-pipeline practices.
What you Will Do
  • Design, build, and maintain backend services in Node.js/Express, exposing secure REST APIs for MeSH editing and browsing.
  • Develop responsive Angular front-ends (Angular Material, Bootstrap, RxJS) for record, concept/term, and tree editing and for public search.
  • Implement and maintain automated test suites with Selenium/WebDriver (Protractor, Nightwatch); sustain cross-browser and regression coverage.
  • Administer MongoDB; design schemas, indexes, and validation; optimize queries and manage backups; maintain PostgreSQL and Oracle databases as needed.
  • Build and maintain Elasticsearch indexes; implement search, reindexing, and data synchronization across the document store and search layer.
  • Develop and operate ETL pipelines that ingest MeSH XML and SQL exports; schedule and monitor full and incremental loads.
  • Implement SSO/authentication (CAS, OpenID Connect, Passport) and apply security hardening and dependency-vulnerability remediation.
  • Manage database schema changes (Flyway) and coordinate zero-downtime, multi-step data and code deployments.
  • Modernize and migrate legacy ColdFusion/Oracle MeSH applications to the current architecture.
  • Document architecture, runbooks, and SOPs; mentor junior engineers and contribute to standards and governance.

What you Will Need
  • Must be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DoD "PUBLIC TRUST"; candidates must obtain approved adjudication of their PUBLIC TRUST prior to onboarding with Guidehouse. Candidates with an ACTIVE PUBLIC TRUST or SUITABILITY are preferred.
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
  • Minimum SIX (6) years of professional software engineering experience.
  • Minimum Five (5) years of full-stack engineering experience across backend and frontend.
  • Proficiency in Git-based version control (GitLab/Bitbucket) and collaborative development.
  • Strong understanding of RESTful API design and integration.
  • Strong backend development in Node.js (Express), including secure REST API design, session management, and middleware.
  • Frontend development with Angular (16+) and TypeScript, using Angular Material, RxJS, and Bootstrap, plus core web technologies (HTML, CSS, JS).
  • Database expertise including MongoDB (Mongoose schema design, indexing, performance tuning) and relational databases (PostgreSQL via Sequelize, Oracle PL/SQL).
  • Search engineering with Elasticsearch (index design, query tuning, reindexing, and synchronization with the system of record).
  • Test automation using Selenium/WebDriver - Protractor and Nightwatch - including cross-browser testing (Chrome, Firefox, IE) and end-to-end regression coverage.
  • ETL and data-pipeline development: ingesting MeSH data from XML and SQL exports, transformation/denormalization, and scheduled (cron) full and incremental loads.
  • Secure authentication/authorization (CAS, OpenID Connect/OAuth2.0, Passport) and web security hardening (Helmet, HSTS, dependency scanning).
  • Database schema migration and versioning (Flyway) with zero-downtime deployment practices.
  • Legacy modernization experience - migrating ColdFusion/Oracle systems to modern web architectures.
  • Strong troubleshooting skills across Node.js, Linux, networking, performance, and observability.
  • Must be eligible for a Public Trust clearance and complete federal background screening.

Nice-to-Have Skills
  • Behavior-driven development with Cucumber/Gherkin feature specifications.
  • Document generation and export to Word/Excel (docx) from structured records.
  • FTP-based data exchange and large-file XML processing/splitting.
  • Structured logging and monitoring (Winston, daily-rotate logs) and proxy/reindex tooling.
  • CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI) and automated packaging/deployment.
  • Familiarity with NLM/NIH controlled vocabularies and applications (MeSH, MTMS).
  • Accessibility compliance with Section 508 for federal UI standards.

Technologies Commonly Used
Backend: Node.js, Express, Sequelize, Mongoose
Frontend: Angular, TypeScript, Angular Material, Bootstrap, RxJS, HTML/CSS/JS
Databases: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle
Search: Elasticsearch
Testing: Selenium/WebDriver, Protractor, Nightwatch, Jasmine, Karma, Cucumber
Auth & Security: CAS, OpenID Connect, OAuth2.0, Passport, Helmet, HSTS, Snyk
DevOps & Data: GitLab CI, Flyway, cron-based ETL, Winston logging
Legacy: ColdFusion, Oracle (PL/SQL packages, triggers, procedures, views)
The annual salary range for this position is $98,000.00-$163,000.00. Compensation decisions depend on a wide range of factors, including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, security clearances, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs.
What We Offer:
Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.
Benefits include:
  • Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
  • Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
  • Parental Leave
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Group Term Life and Travel Assistance
  • Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance
  • Health Savings Account, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Transit and Parking Commuter Benefits
  • Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
  • Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development, Certifications & Learning Opportunities
  • Employee Referral Program
  • Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
  • Care.com annual membership
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Supplemental Benefits via Corestream (Critical Care, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Assistance and ID theft protection, etc.)
  • Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus

About Guidehouse
Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer-Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.
Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@guidehouse.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation.
All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or guidehouse@myworkday.com. Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse. Note that Guidehouse will never charge a fee or require a money transfer at any stage of the recruitment process and does not collect fees from educational institutions for participation in a recruitment event. Never provide your banking information to a third party purporting to need that information to proceed in the hiring process.
If any person or organization demands money related to a job opportunity with Guidehouse, please report the matter to Guidehouse's Ethics Hotline. If you want to check the validity of correspondence you have received, please contact recruiting@guidehouse.com. Guidehouse is not responsible for losses incurred (monetary or otherwise) from an applicant's dealings with unauthorized third parties.
Guidehouse does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Guidehouse and Guidehouse will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.

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