Principal Software Engineer - Remote

ICF is a mission-driven company filled with people who care deeply about improving the lives of others and making the world a better place. Our core values include Embracing Difference; we seek candidates who are passionate about building a culture that encourages, embraces, and hires dimensions of difference.

About the Role:
Our Health Engineering Solutions (HES) team works side by side with customers to articulate a vision for success and then make it happen. We know success doesn't happen by accident. It takes the right team of people, working together on the right solutions for the customer.

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership in the design, development, and evolution of mission-critical healthcare technology platforms. This role combines hands-on software engineering with architectural leadership and strategic technical
influence.

The successful candidate will help define technical direction, establish engineering standards, mentor fellow engineers, and drive the delivery of scalable, secure, and resilient cloud-native solutions.

You will work closely with product owners, engineers, architects, and business stakeholders to solve complex technical challenges, modernize existing platforms, and build new capabilities that support federal healthcare programs. You will play a key role in evaluating technologies, shaping platform architecture, and ensuring engineering excellence across the software development lifecycle.

We believe strongly in test-driven development, continuous integration, continuous deployment, and a DevOps-first culture.

Our core work hours are 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Eastern Time, with flexibility to start earlier or work later depending on your time zone.

What You'll Bring:
Successful candidates are passionate about solving complex technical challenges and delivering meaningful outcomes for customers. They are comfortable operating at both the strategic and implementation levels, can navigate ambiguity, and enjoy mentoring others while driving technical excellence. They bring a strong sense of ownership, a collaborative mindset, and a commitment to building systems that improve healthcare outcomes and support critical public
service missions.

Responsibilities
• Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of enterprise-scale cloud-native applications and services.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple applications, services, and engineering teams.
• Design and develop secure, scalable, and maintainable backend services using Node.js, TypeScript, and modern cloud technologies.
• Establish and promote engineering standards, architectural patterns, and development best practices.
• Partner with product owners, business stakeholders, and engineering leadership to translate business objectives into technical solutions.
• Lead technical design discussions and architectural reviews.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, design reviews, technical guidance, and knowledge sharing.
• Drive platform modernization initiatives and evaluate emerging technologies for potential adoption.
• Design and implement integrations with internal and external systems and services.
• Optimize application performance, reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency.
• Contribute to long-term technology strategy and technical roadmaps.
• Support DevOps practices, automation, observability, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues and guide teams toward sustainable solutions.
• Collaborate effectively across distributed teams while maintaining strong communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Tools & Technologies:
Application Development
• Node.js
• TypeScript
• JavaScript
• Express.js
• React
• GraphQL (preferred)
• REST APIs
Data Technologies
• MongoDB
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Mongoose
Cloud & Infrastructure
• AWS Lambda
• AWS Step Functions
• AWS Fargate
• AWS ECS
• AWS Glue
• Docker
• Terraform (preferred)
Engineering Practices
• CI/CD Pipelines
• Infrastructure as Code
• Automated Testing
• Cloud-Native Architecture
• Observability and Monitoring
• Agile Development

Basic Requirements:
• Bachelor's degree
• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 5+ years of experience developing applications using Node.js and TypeScript.
• 3+ years of experience designing, deploying, and supporting solutions within AWS cloud environments.

• 3+ years' experience supporting federal healthcare programs.

• Must have lived in the United States for a total of three full years out of the last five years.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.
• Must reside in the United States, be authorized to work in the United States, and all work must be performed within the United States.

Strongly Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience building and supporting enterprise-scale REST APIs and distributed systems.
• Experience working with MongoDB or similar NoSQL database technologies.
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker.
• Strong understanding of cloud-native architecture, distributed systems, and software design principles.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a technical lead, architect, principal engineer, or equivalent senior technical role.
• Experience mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction across teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within cross-functional teams.

• Experience with FHIR and healthcare interoperability standards.
• Experience designing and operating systems serving large public-facing user populations.
• Experience building event-driven architectures and large-scale data processing pipelines.
• Experience leading cloud migration, modernization, or platform transformation initiatives.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code solutions such as Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Experience with Identity and Access Management solutions such as Okta.
• Experience with observability and log analysis tools such as Splunk.
• Experience working in Agile software development environments.
• Experience supporting high-volume, highly available cloud-native applications.
• Experience with complex salesforce integrations with a specific focus on overallarchitecture in a healthcare setting.
• Experience with machine learning tools for developing and maintaining complex language model.

Working at ICF
ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we're not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future.

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email View email address on click.appcast.io and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.


Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act.


Candidate AI Usage Policy

At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process.


However, we understand that some candidates may require accommodation that involves the use of AI. If such an accommodation is needed, candidates are instructed to contact us in advance at View email address on click.appcast.io. We are dedicated to providing the necessary support to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed.


Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.


The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is:
$144,381.00 - $245,448.00

Nationwide Remote Office (US99)