Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Highlands Ranch, CO

ARKA Group L.P. ("ARKA") is an advanced technologies company serving the U.S. military, intelligence community, and commercial space industry delivering next-generation solutions to support the national security space enterprise. Built on more than six decades of excellence, ARKA brings modern approaches and a culture of innovation to the challenges of today.
Join the ARKA team to learn how Beyond Begins Here. Discover your next career opportunity now!
Position Overview:
This senior role is for a Software Architect/Principal Software Engineer, and requires technical leadership, system design, and implementation oversight of complex government system architectures for national critical systems. You will serve as the key decision-maker in defining the "how" a system will be implemented to meet its software requirements, coordinating efforts between ARKA and sub-contractors. The responsibility of this dynamic role is expected to evolve over the course of the program and includes fostering customer intimacy to ensure a full understanding of the customer's needs, and then successfully leading the engineering team to realize that critical vision.
ARKA is seeking an accomplished Software Architect/Principal Software Engineer who is deeply customer mission-focused and passionate about providing strategic technical leadership in the software architecture and design of complex government systems, requiring proven experience leading programs involving 30+ developers in a distributed environment. This principal technical authority will be responsible for creating robust system designs derived from comprehensive requirements analysis, developing and evolving system architectures for enterprise-level solutions, establishing and maintaining rigorous interface definition standards and APIs, and leading advanced software design tasks to ensure optimal performance and maintainability. Beyond direct design, the architect is expected to drive technical consensus through trade studies, proactively identify and mitigate technical risks, act as the primary technical interface to leadership, government customers, and sub-contractor CA/CE's, and actively participate in the mentorship and growth of the distributed engineering team, ultimately joining our team to help shape the development and delivery of custom solutions and providing significant opportunities for personal skill development at ARKA.
We offer generous relocation benefits for eligible candidates.
In support of work/life balance, many positions are available for a flexible schedule within the pay period. Ask us about the opportunity for flex scheduling if that's of interest to you.
Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor engineering development teams across the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to ensure program and technical success
• Drive Continuous Delivery and DevOps Adoption: Lead and mentor engineering teams across the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), emphasizing modern practices like continuous integration, continuous delivery (CI/CD), infrastructure as code, and automated testing to ensure rapid and reliable program and technical success
• Define Cloud-Native/Distributed System Architecture: Apply deep technical expertise to define technical objectives, establish resilient system architecture patterns (e.g., microservices, event-driven), analyze complex engineering challenges, and drive effective, scalable solutions for distributed systems
• Govern Engineering Quality and Resilience: Evaluate the quality, efficacy, and observability of engineering deliverables, including software design, development practices, automated deployment pipelines, and operational monitoring. Ensure adherence to high standards for performance, scalability, and system resilience
• Proactive Operational Risk Communication: Proactively communicate engineering status, architectural risks (including technical debt), and operational issues related to system performance, availability, latency, and security (DevSecOps) to program leadership and the customer in real-time
• Facilitate Architectural Alignment with Customers: Conduct technical exchange meetings (TEMs) with government customers and external stakeholders to present architectural roadmaps, secure design approvals, and ensure continuous technical alignment with evolving mission needs
• Champion Innovation and Technology Strategy: Continuously evaluate, prototype, and recommend emerging technologies (e.g., AI/ML integration, new programming languages, cloud services) to enhance the performance, security, and future capabilities of mission-critical software systems

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related technical field
• 10+ years of professional software development experience
• Demonstrated experience as a Chief Architect, Associate Chief Architect, or equivalent technical leadership role, guiding teams through the full software development lifecycle and successfully deploying capabilities into classified government operational environments
• Strong cross-functional communication skills and proven ability to collaborate effectively within small, fast-paced teams, managing multiple tasks to meet program milestones and deadlines
• Proven track record of leading Agile software engineering initiatives across all phases, including design, development, configuration, integration, testing, and delivery to end-users
• Experience in large-scale system design and deployments on cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure), with a deep understanding of architectural principles for scalability
• Familiarity with leveraging cloud services for Kubernetes deployments and management, virtual machine management, object storage, and serverless functions
• Ability to translate in-depth system engineering analysis into actionable software development concepts and implementations
• Experience in code review processes, ensuring technical soundness, adherence to coding standards, and adequate testing (including unit and integration tests)
• Demonstrated experience working on projects with geographically distributed teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience engaging effectively with virtual teams
• Active TS/SCI Security Clearance with ability to obtain CI Poly

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong business acumen with a proven ability to align technical solutions with business objectives
• Experience developing software on cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, with a solid understanding of cloud-native architectures and design principles
• Familiarity with cloud services for container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), virtual machine management, object storage, and serverless computing
• Hands-on experience in software application deployment, virtualization technologies, and containerization (e.g., Docker)
• Experience in one or more of the following areas:
• Satellite communication planning for individual satellites and constellations
• SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) and GEOINT (Geospatial Intelligence) mission planning operations
• Satellite command and control (C2) systems
• Satellite tasking for GEOINT and SIGINT collection
• Advanced mission planning for satellite operations, including payload operation and integration

Pay Range: $165,000 - $200,000
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.
The application window will close in 60 days for this position.
Location: Aurora, CO
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.
What We Offer:

• Comprehensive medical/vision/dental insurance packages
• Company contributions to qualified HSA accounts
• 401k retirement plan with industry leading company contributions
• 3 weeks of vacation accrual per year plus time off for sick leave and unscheduled life events
• 13 paid holidays
• Upfront tuition assistance for approved degree programs
• 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)

EHS/Environmental Requirements:
This job operates in a professional office environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee routinely is required to use hands to keyboard, communicate, listen to, and interpret instructions and remain stationary for extended periods of the time. This would require the ability to move around the campus and occasionally move/lift items weighing up to 25 lbs. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
Applicants are invited to apply for a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the job. To apply, send a request to staffing@arka.org or contact 203-797-5000 and press 2 for Human Resources.
ITC & Security Clearance Requirements:
This position requires active TS/SCI Security Clearance with ability to obtain CI Poly.
Visa Restrictions:
No visa sponsorship is available for this position.
Pre-employment Screenings:
Employment with any ARKA companies in the U.S. is contingent upon satisfactory completion of several pre-employment requirements to include a credit check, background check, and drug screen.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.