Freelance Java Developer Startup Jobs in Ashburn, VA

The Work:

The Senior Principal Engineer Manager at Accenture Federal Services (AFS) is a top-tier technical leadership role. This position sits at the intersection of enterprise architecture, mission-critical delivery, and hands-on innovation. You aren't just managing people; you are the "engineer's engineer," responsible for the technical integrity of massive federal systems that impact millions of citizens. As a Principal Engineer, you will serve as the primary technical authority for high-stakes federal engagements. You will bridge the gap between abstract mission goals and concrete, high-performance codebases.

You will be responsible for: 

• Define a product level technical vision aligned to customer outcomes and client goals.
• Establish lightweight architectural guardrails (interfaces, patterns, conventions) that enable rapid iteration with quality.
• Use business, user, and operational signals to prioritize for accelerated time to value.
• Design and integrate AI capabilities where possible with clear interfaces, guardrails, and observability to ensure reliable, safe, and measurable user value. 
• Convert strategy into technical roadmaps, sequencing work by impact, effort, risk, and learning value.
• Manage the complete product delivery lifecycle, encompassing conceptualization, development, launch, and iterative enhancement, with a focus on reducing cycle time and accelerating delivery.
• Write product code and tests across the stack (e.g., back end Java/Python, front end React/Angular, data SQL/NoSQL).
• Govern multiple product codebases; set measurable objectives and maintain code quality, engineering throughput, and release predictability.
• Leverage AI tools for code generation, test authoring, defect triage, and documentation to shorten feedback loops, reduce cycle time, and improve developer throughput. 
• Establish domain driven modularity by defining bounded contexts, enforcing separation of concerns, and composing services/components to enable rapid iteration and safe refactoring.
• Design APIs and contracts with stable, versioned REST interfaces, schemas and ensure backward compatibility and protect integrations through contract testing.
• Model data and integrity via pragmatic relational/NoSQL schemas; enforce referential integrity and validation; plan sensible indexing and migration strategies.
• Engineer for performance and scale using caching, pagination, batching, and concurrency controls; set performance budgets and profile regularly. 
• Design cloud native products with modular, scalable microservices and event driven patterns and clear contracts (REST/streaming/batch).
• Standardize containers and orchestration by building images and operating containers with simple, repeatable deployment paths.
• Implement data and streaming foundations using SQL/NoSQL models, caching tiers, and Kafka/Pub/Sub to deliver low latency, high throughput experiences.
• Run CI/CD at speed with trunk-based development, automated tests, and progressive delivery (feature flags, blue green) to shorten feedback loops and reduce risk.
• Set standards for clarity, reliability, performance, security, and observability; embed modern SDLC practices (DevSecOps, trunk based development, feature flags, AI coding tools).
• Serve as a primary technical authority and mentor; lead design reviews, improve documentation, and champion reusability for efficiency. 
• Provide concise, data driven updates on status, risks, trade offs, and decisions to executives and cross functional leadership.
• Build confidence via transparent communication, disciplined execution, and fast, measurable results.
• Iterate based on telemetry, experiment outcomes, and customer feedback; institutionalize learning and best practices.
• Activate growth levers (new user flows, platform reuse, developer experience gains) to increase user value and engineering throughput.

Here's What You Need: 

• 10+ years software development
• 8+ years full stack (back end: Java/Python; front end: Angular/React; data: SQL and NoSQL, cloud: AWS)
• 5+ years developing, testing, and launching production software in big tech or startup environments
• 3+ years leading product architecture and complex technical design
• 1+ years building AI enabled product features and/or using AI to improve delivery (AI coding tools, intelligent analytics)
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (4 additional years of experience may be substituted)
• U.S Citizenship

Bonus Points If: 

• Advanced Degree
• Motivated and proactive, with a desire to understand and address complex areas
• Curiosity for learning about new technology, industry best practices, and areas of risk, analyzing and turning new insights into concrete action
• Commitment to delivering tangible outcomes for customers and stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication/interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders