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Tools Engineer Jobs in Colorado (NOW HIRING)

DevOps Engineer

Greenwood Village, CO · On-site

$53.50 - $73/hr

... s Engineer Job Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado Job Type: Contract * Assess existing systems ... Automate provisioning and configuration using Infrastructure as Code tools (e.g. Terraform, Ansible ...

DevOps Engineer

Denver, CO

$53.25 - $73/hr

B uild & manage CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, or Azure DevOps. * A utomate cloud infrastructure using IaC tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation. * M anage ...

DevOps Engineer

Englewood, CO · On-site

$52 - $71.25/hr

Design, implement, and manage CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps and related tools * Manage infrastructure as code (IaC) using ARM templates, Bicep, or Terraform * Monitor system performance and ...

DevOps Engineer

Denver, CO · On-site

$53.25 - $73/hr

... s Engineer Company Overview: We are a fast-growing technology company focused on delivering ... Expertise in CI/CD tools. * Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, ARM, CloudFormation). * Kubernetes ...

Senior Java Developer

Englewood, CO

$56.75 - $72.50/hr

Senior Java Engineer Top 3 Must Have Skillsets: Java, Springboot, REST, Kubernetes Job Summary ... Projects are usually of considerable complexity and require a mastery of development tools.

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Showing results 1-20

Tools Engineer information

See Colorado salary details

$56.8K

$115.7K

$171.9K

How much do tools engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for tools engineer in Colorado is $115,654.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $87,300.00 and $129,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some typical responsibilities of a Tools Engineer on a development team?

As a Tools Engineer, you'll be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining internal tools used by other developers and teams to automate tasks, improve workflow efficiency, and support the software development lifecycle. Your day-to-day tasks may include writing scripts, optimizing build pipelines, providing technical support for tool users, and integrating new technologies into existing infrastructure. You’ll also collaborate closely with developers, QA engineers, and project managers to identify pain points and deliver solutions that address real-world challenges. This collaborative, problem-solving focus makes the role both dynamic and critical to the overall productivity of the team.

What engineers make $500,000?

Senior tools engineers, software engineers in specialized fields, and engineering managers with extensive experience and advanced skills can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially in high-cost-of-living areas or large tech companies. Compensation often includes base salary, bonuses, and stock options, and requires expertise in programming, systems design, and industry-specific tools.

What engineers make $300,000 a year?

Senior engineers in specialized fields such as software engineering, tools engineering, and data engineering can earn $300,000 or more annually, especially with extensive experience, advanced skills, and working in high-demand industries like technology or finance. These roles often require expertise in programming, system design, and sometimes leadership or management responsibilities.

What does a Tools Engineer do?

A Tools Engineer designs, develops, and maintains software tools that improve workflow efficiency for engineers, designers, and developers. They create automation scripts, internal utilities, and custom applications to streamline development processes. Their role often involves working with game engines, build systems, CI/CD pipelines, or proprietary tools tailored to a company's needs. Strong programming skills, problem-solving abilities, and collaboration with other teams are essential for success in this role.

What is the role of a tool engineer?

A tools engineer designs, develops, and maintains software tools and systems that support the development, testing, and deployment of products. They often work closely with development teams to improve workflows, automate processes, and ensure tool reliability, using programming skills and knowledge of development environments.

What does a tools engineer do?

A tools engineer develops, maintains, and improves software tools and systems used by development teams to increase efficiency and productivity. They often work with scripting, automation, and version control systems, and require knowledge of programming languages and software development processes.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Tools Engineer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Tools Engineer, you need strong programming abilities, problem-solving skills, and a background in computer science or related technical fields. Experience with scripting languages (such as Python or Bash), source control systems, and build automation tools is often required, and certifications in relevant technologies can be beneficial. Excellent communication, teamwork, and adaptability help tools engineers collaborate efficiently and respond to evolving project needs. These skills are essential for designing and maintaining robust tools that streamline workflows and improve productivity for development teams.

What job categories do people searching Tools Engineer jobs in Colorado look for? The top searched job categories for Tools Engineer jobs in Colorado are:
What are popular job titles related to Tools Engineer jobs in CO? For Tools Engineer jobs in CO, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Infographic showing various Tools Engineer job openings in Colorado as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 84% Full Time, and 16% Contract. Highlights an 85% In-person, 5% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $115,654 per year, or $55.6 per hour.
Development Tools & Pipelines Software Leader

Development Tools & Pipelines Software Leader

United Launch Alliance

Centennial, CO • On-site

Other

Retirement, PTO

Posted 7 days ago


Job description

Requisition ID: 1749

Standard Weekly Hours: 40.00 

Location: ULA - Denver 

Relocation: Yes- Relocation may be available 

Travel Requirements: None/Infrequent 

At ULA, success comes through the efforts of a strong, united team.

Thanks for your interest in United Launch Alliance, the world's most experienced and reliable space launch company! Successfully launching more than 155 consecutive missions with 100% mission success doesn't happen by accident. It's a testament to the commitment and dedication of our team of rocket scientists and support employees combined with the systems and processes we use to pull them together. As a ULA employee, you'll have the opportunity to grow in your career while working in a team-oriented culture that combines technology, innovation, ingenuity and a commitment to the extraordinary. Whether you are in college just launching your career, or, have experience and want to come work with the best rocket team in the world, our unshakable unity yields stronger solutions and better results as we carry out our mission to save lives, explore the universe, and connect the world. Our team is excited to meet you!

Job Overview & Responsibilities

At ULA, as a Development Tools & Pipelines Software Leader, you will lead a talented, high performing team of employees that architect, design, develop and test solutions for ULA's development environment. You will coordinate project schedules, monitor development tasks and provide & analyze metrics to evaluate process execution and reliability. Operating in an agile environment, you will engage with Product Owners, Technology Architects, Quality Assurance and Automation team members on cross-functional activities. As a member of theSoftware Engineering leadership team, you will help set the direction of the organization and provide process ownership and technical leadership. You will participate in strategic activities such as proposal efforts, future planning, and developing software roadmaps. 

You are skilled at building strong teams and developing people. You have a passion for leading and driving changes. You are motivated by improving systems & processes and seeing reliability & user productivity increase. You naturally break down organizational silos and build partnerships. You provide leadership and clarity to create a shared vision and roadmaps to evolve the capabilities of software systems.  

The Development Tools & Pipelines Software Leader reports to the Software Infrastructure Senior Leader. This leader will oversee and direct development activities for ULA's development environments.  

Specific Responsibilities Include: 

  • Personnel and Team Development: Developing and maintaining a team of expert Software Systems Integrators and Software Engineers who can establish requirements, develop and integrate software and data products and take them through testing and deployment.
  • Responsibility in Program Execution by building agile roadmaps, plans, and milestones. Develop, implement, and communicate the economic framework including earned value.
  • Proactively engages with other Software leaders regarding development tools functionality and roadmap. Shapes evolution and architecture of roadmap incorporating continuous improvement and innovation. Drives process coordination and consistency while allowing experimentation within scrum teams. Matures agile best practice among product owners, scrum masters and developers. Ensures proper knowledge base, skillset and talent availability for development environment software team through both hiring and career growth assignments for teammates.
  • Exercise positive leadership over multi-discipline activities which impact or contribute to Mission Success, program cost performance, program schedule performance, program risk management, and business development success.   Actively coordinate and collaborate with other functional disciplines across the program to innovatively resolve technical and programmatic risks, issues and challenges.
  • Reinforce Essential Scaled Agile (SAFe) principles. Participate in and guide agile ceremonies such as Program Increment Planning, System Demos, and Design Reviews.
  • Build partnerships with Customers, Suppliers, Consultants, Partners, and Internal/External Stakeholders.
  • Working with minimal direction and having strong facilitation and people skills.
  • Interfacing with and leading teams that may include diverse internal teams and external stakeholders.
  • Managing the deployment of scalable software development processes and tools.  
  • Execution of the Launch Vehicle Software Development Plan.
  • Guiding teams in building software development tools and pipelines that are compliant with Cybersecurity requirements. 

Required Education

Bachelor

Required Years of Experience

Minimum of 8 years of related work experience

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field from an accredited college or university

  • Experience with the Software Engineering Development Lifecycle (Requirements, Design, Implementation, Test & Release)

  • Experience with task planning/budgeting and organizational skills which support effective project performance

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience and ability to drive strong team culture
  • Experience leading teams of 10-20 software engineers  
  • Experience with task planning, budgeting and project/program management
  • Experience working with the IV&V contractor community
  • Experience with modern software development practices & tools
  • Experience with development and execution in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure)
  • Lean-Agile (SAFe, Scrum and XP) program/project management experience
  • Excellent team communication skills (written and verbal), as well as effective communication, interpersonal and facilitation skills
  • Proven ability to lead across organizational boundaries and as part of cross-functional teams
  • Self-starter with effective decision-making ability and capable of working with minimal direction
  • Ability to coach strong, independent, agile teams to the next level of performance
  • Ability to engage and motivate a team to improve tools and processes   
  • Proposal development experience
  • Earned Value Management (in an Agile setting)
  • Full Software Development Lifecycle Experience
  • Hardware / Software integration and test experience
  • Cybersecurity experience for software development tools
  • Software Architecture (ability to guide and shape standards)
  • Software Coding Experience 

Summary Salary Range (for ULA - Denver only):  $147,813.00 - $274,510.00 

Please note that the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon a candidate's experience and qualifications, as well as internal equity, market and business considerations. Employees may be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus in addition to base pay. 

What makes ULA different?

Because we understand launch success comes through the collective efforts of a team, we seek the best to join us. We value ethics, ingenuity, engagement and professional development for employees at all levels.

We offer our employees competitive pay and benefits including:

  • 401(k) match plus an additional employer contribution
  • Discretionary annual incentive bonus for eligible employees
  • Generous paid time off
  • Flexible work environments

Additionally, most salaried ULA team members work a "9/80 schedule," meaning they enjoy every other Friday off.

Benefits and work schedules may vary for union-represented hourly positions and are described in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

Security Clearance / International Traffic In Arms Regulations (ITAR). This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic In Arms Regulations (ITAR). Therefore, all applicants must be U.S. Persons as defined in ITAR 22 CFR 120.62 (e.g., U.S. Citizen, Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) or protected individual. See 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) and 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) for additional information).

ULA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

ULA is a participant in the federal E-Verify Program. Posters in PDF format pertaining to this program can be accessed by clicking on the links identified below. E-Verify Participation poster (English / Spanish) and Right to Work Poster (English / Spanish).

Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act requires covered employees to follow a post selection notification process. A hired candidate may opt out of this process by notifying the hiring manager in writing at the time the offer is accepted