Intern Java Backend Developer Jobs in Charlottesville, VA

Why GA-Intelligence?
We solve complex, mission-critical problems. We have spent decades earning the trust of our users and delivering systems they rely on every day. As a privately held company, we can make long-term decisions in the best interest of our customers and our country rather than quarterly earnings reports. Our users rely on our software, our customers come back because we deliver, and our engineers stay because they get to work on real problems that have real impact. What You'll Do
We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead a large effort to build out the simulation tools that support testing and training for our C2 application. You'll sit on our Battle C2 and Simulation team, a primarily frontend team building the next generation of global situational awareness and battle orchestration capabilities. This is a hands-on senior engineering role, not a formal people-management position. It is roughly 80% backend/fullstack (Java and Spring Boot) powering simulation data and services, and 20% frontend work in the team's user-facing application. You'll drive the technical direction of the simulation effort, working alongside a small group of developers: one focused full-time on simulation with you, and two others who split their time on the C2 UI. Rather than managing day-to-day tasking, you'll set technical direction, make key architectural decisions, and translate mission requirements into performant, scalable services. You'll work closelywith cross-functional teams, including UI/UX engineers, mission engineers, data scientists, and product owners, to design and deliver software for complex user needs. Whether you're building simulation data pipelines, optimizing backend services, or working in the frontend to make sure data reaches the end user, your work will directly support operational missions. What We Believe
These values reflect how we work, what we value in each other, and the kind of impact we want to have. Solving Meaningful Challenges: Building mission-driven technology that makes a difference Collaborative Culture: Working as a team to push boundaries and innovate Technical Excellence: Encouraging continuous learning, curiosity, and efficiency Idea Meritocracy: Valuing ideas based on impact, not hierarchy DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES:
Senior engineers at GA-Intelligence drive strategy, architecture, and delivery across complex projects. On the Battle C2 and Simulation team you'll lead the technical direction of the simulation effort, set engineering standards, and help shape long-term technical direction. Alongside building and maintaining backend infrastructure, you'll serve as a mentor and technical decision-maker both within the team and with external stakeholders. Lead development activities (backend/fullstack focus) Design, implement, and deliver enterprise-wide backend services in Java and Spring Boot, primarily powering battle simulation data for battlefield command and control, geospatial data management, exploitation, visualization, and analysis Build and integrate the APIs and services that feed the team's user-facing application Research and develop new software processing concepts for situational awareness and battlefield optimization Guide long-term planning and technical roadmaps for backend services and system architecture so they align with organizational goals, operational requirements, and product strategy Contribute to the frontend Work directly in the team's frontend codebase to close fullstack gaps, prototype features, and make sure backend data reaches the UI cleanlyCollaborate externally Serve as a senior technical point of contact for customers, partners, and other engineering teams Communicate effectively with customers, management, and other engineering teams in secure environments Coordinate software deployments and upgrades across distributed environments, including DoD and IC networks Maintain existing capabilities deployed to customer facilities and AWS cloud environments Evaluate and implement cross-platform deployment strategies, ensuring compliance with integration and security standards Engineer performant, high-quality solutions Contribute to system-wide performance tuning and reliability improvements, identifying architectural risks and proposing fixes Develop test scripts and frameworks to verify functionality and produce high-quality software deliverables Lead the simulation effort Drive the technical direction of a large effort to build out simulation tools supporting testing and training for the C2 application Set architectural direction and make key technical decisions across the simulation effort Grow the team's capability Mentor developers contributing to the simulation effort: one full-time alongside you and others splitting time with the C2 UI Contribute to onboarding, skill development, and growth paths for less experienced engineers Provide technical leadership across the full development lifecycle, including design reviews, documentation, ticketing, version control, Agile methodologies, coding standards, and testing practices Operate responsibly Maintain the strict confidentiality of sensitive information Observe all laws, regulations, and other applicable obligations wherever and whenever business is conducted on behalf of the Company Work in a safe manner in accordance with established operating procedures and practices We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply. JOB QUALIFICATIONS * Typically requires a bachelors degree, masters degree or PhD in computer science, information system or related discipline and progressive software development experience as follows; nine or more years of experience with a bachelors degree, seven or more years of experience with a masters degree, or four or more years with a PhD.  May substitute equivalent experience in lieu of education.
* Deep expertise in Java and Spring Boot, with experience developing Java code in production environments
* Strong foundation in mathematics, computer networking, communication protocols, and/or data exchange formats
* Experience with software development in Linux
* Experience with AWS-hosted environments, Docker containerization, and execution through Kubernetes Experience with helm and helmfile deployments in a Kubernetes environment
* A solid understanding of formal software engineering principles including design, documentation, ticketing systems, version control, and Agile methodologies
* Comfortable working across the stack, including hands-on frontend contributions Demonstrated technical leadership in cross-functional engineering efforts, including leading large technical initiatives and mentoring other developers
* Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience working directly with customers or stakeholders
* Ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance required
PREFERRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
* Experience architecting and scaling distributed systems
* Experience in backend architecture and service design
* Experience with performance tuning and high-availability system design
* Familiarity with Python for supporting scripts, tooling, or data work
* Experience building or working with simulation data and data pipelines
* Familiarity with Kafka, NiFi, GeoMesa, AWS, or other cloud-native technologies
* Experience leading incident response, root cause analysis, and operational improvements
* Experience working in the DoD or Intelligence Community