Senior Engineer

This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

Who we are:

Raft ( is a customer-obsessed non-traditional defense tech company dedicated to empowering U.S. military and government agencies with cutting-edge AI/ML and data solutions. We are a leader in autonomous data fusion and Agentic AI, with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development. With headquarters in McLean, VA, our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.


We're looking for an experienced Senior Engineer to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers.

About the role:

Raft is building a data platform for the Department of Defense (DoD), aimed at enhancing operators' awareness of critical data. This data is subsequently enriched, rendered queryable, and ultimately presented as a common operational picture to empower operators in making time critical and pertinent decisions. Key technologies include Kafka, Kafka Streams, Pinot, Java, Scala, and Kubernetes. Your involvement in this role will encompass hands-on collaboration with a team of accomplished individuals, collectively striving towards excellence.

What you will do:

• Build data infrastructure and platforms using diverse data frameworks such as Apache Kafka, Flink, and Kafka Streams
• Build Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) pipelines to enable comprehensive data operations
• Leverage software engineering principles to architect, develop, and implement large scale data applications

What we are looking for:

• Three plus years of hands-on relevant industry experience
• Experience with large-scale relational and non-relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch to handle low-latency requirements
• Experience or knowledge of service mesh technologies, such as Istio
• Experience with supporting enterprise Cloud applications or infrastructure
• Experience in automation languages like Python or GoLang
• Experience in data management including ETL processing, data governance, and data storage
• Experience with building and releasing software in cloud-native environments
• Experience using a variety of package managers/dependency managers including Maven, Gradle, and NPM
• Deep knowledge of software design and architecture patterns
• Obtain Security+ within the first 90 days of employment with Raft

Highly preferred:

• Experience with Kubernetes
• Experience with building and managing fault-tolerant, data-intensive platforms using data technologies such as Kafka, Pinot, or Flink
• Experience with monitoring (i.e. Prometheus, Grafana) and logging (i.e. Fluentbit, Kibana, Loki) solutions in cloud-native environments
• Solid understanding of Helm Charts

Clearance Requirements:

• Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI clearance

Work Type:

• On-site in Dayton, OH
• On-site in Tampa, FL
• May require up to 25% travel

Salary Range: $120,000 - $180,000

• The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities

What we will offer you:

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
• Education & training benefits
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs
• Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work
• Remote, hybrid, and flexible work options
• Team off-site in fun places!
• Generous Referral Bonuses
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.


Our Customer Obsession:


We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?


Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.


Raft's core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are . We support our "nadi" by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.


We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.