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R&D Software Engineer — AI/ML Mission Solutions

Location: United States
Work Model: Remote
Travel: Approximately 15% for R&D events, technical demos, and collaboration sessions
Clearance: U.S. citizenship required. Active Secret clearance preferred; candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

Role Overview

Rackner is seeking an R&D Engineer — Mission Solutions to help build, prototype, demonstrate, and refine software and platform solutions for defense-relevant use cases.

This is a hands-on R&D role for an engineer who can move between implementation, technical discovery, stakeholder conversations, and rapid iteration. You will work with Rackner's internal R&D team and technical leadership to turn operational needs, user feedback, and emerging ideas into practical software solutions.

The right candidate is technically credible, comfortable with ambiguity, and able to explain complex concepts clearly to engineers, customers, and non-technical stakeholders. You should be energized by early-stage technical work: building prototypes, validating assumptions, testing integrations, supporting demos, and improving solutions based on real-world feedback.

This is not a traditional sales role. It is a hands-on engineering role focused on R&D execution, technical validation, customer-informed iteration, and mission-focused software development.

What You'll Do

• Build, prototype, test, and refine software and platform solutions for defense-relevant use cases
• Contribute to internal R&D efforts from concept through demonstration and follow-on improvement
• Develop, configure, integrate, and validate prototype capabilities across cloud-native or containerized environments
• Support technical demos, R&D events, solution walkthroughs, and customer or mission-focused engagements
• Translate user, customer, and stakeholder feedback into clear technical requirements and next-step recommendations
• Work closely with engineers and technical leadership to evaluate tradeoffs, troubleshoot issues, and improve system behavior
• Bridge operational needs and software implementation by helping teams understand what users need and what is technically feasible
• Test APIs, services, workflows, integrations, and deployment patterns in modern software environments
• Prepare demo materials, technical documentation, briefing content, and post-event feedback summaries
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to engineering teams, program stakeholders, customers, and mission users
• Represent Rackner's R&D work with professionalism, curiosity, and technical credibility

Minimum Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required due to federal contract requirements
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance
• Technical background in software development, platform engineering, systems engineering, DevSecOps, cloud technologies, or a related discipline
• Hands-on experience designing, building, integrating, testing, or improving modern software systems
• Proven ability to collaborate with engineering teams through prototype development, experimentation, implementation, or delivery efforts
• Working knowledge of APIs, cloud platforms, container technologies, CI/CD pipelines, and modern development practices
• Ability to collect input from users and stakeholders and convert needs into clear engineering priorities
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain architectures, tradeoffs, and technical decisions to varied audiences
• Comfortable operating independently in fast-moving environments with evolving requirements
• Willingness to travel approximately 15% for R&D events, demonstrations, collaboration sessions, or customer engagements

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance or higher
• Background with DoD, Air Force, Platform One, Big Bang, mission planning, C2, ISR, autonomy, or other defense technology programs
• Knowledge of Mission Command, Battle Management, operational planning tools, tactical applications, or related defense systems
• Proficiency with technologies such as Python, JavaScript / TypeScript, React, Go, FastAPI, Postgres, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Terraform, or CI/CD tooling
• History of creating prototypes, connecting systems, evaluating new technologies, or bringing early concepts into usable form
• Participation in technical demonstrations, pilots, field exercises, workshops, briefings, or customer-facing events
• Experience collaborating directly with operators, end users, customers, engineers, and cross-functional teams
• Exposure to AI-enabled applications, LLMs, automation, data platforms, autonomy, or emerging technology areas
• Understanding of secure development practices, observability, infrastructure-as-code, compliance requirements, or production operations
• Strong writing skills for creating documentation, technical summaries, demo content, and stakeholder-facing materials

Travel & Event Support

This role requires approximately 15% travel for R&D events, technical demos, collaboration sessions, and customer or mission-focused engagements. Travel is planned in advance whenever possible and may include internal engineering sessions, customer-facing demonstrations, field events, or technical workshops.

About Rackner

Rackner is a software consultancy focused on building mission-critical systems for the U.S. government. Our teams work across cloud platforms, DevSecOps, AI/ML, distributed systems, and modern software engineering initiatives supporting federal agencies and national security missions.

Rackner engineers and technical teams collaborate closely with leadership, program teams, and mission stakeholders to design, demonstrate, and improve software systems that address complex operational challenges.

Benefits & Perks

Rackner invests in its people, because when you grow, we all win.

• Company-supported certifications aligned to current and future program work, including cloud, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, security, AI/ML, project management, and related technical areas
• Clear advancement tracks and future leadership opportunities
• 401(k) with 100% match up to 6%
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage
• Generous PTO and paid holidays
• Home-office equipment plan and remote work support
• Fitness and wellness reimbursement
• Weekly pay schedule and modern perks, including team events

Equal Opportunity

Rackner is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.