Principal Software Engineer, Simulation & Training Systems

Salary: $118,300 - 224,900 per year Requirements:

• Typically requires a STEM degree and at least 8 years of relevant experience, or an advanced degree in a related field and at least 5 years of experience
• Active and transferable U.S. government-issued security clearance required before starting; the posting specifies a current Secret clearance and an active clearance on day one
• U.S. citizenship required for security-clearance eligibility
• Previous experience with C++ and familiarity with agile development practices and general software engineering design principles
• Preferred: experience with training simulations and familiarity with training or avionics protocols such as ARINC 429, ARINC 610, and MIL-STD-1553
• Preferred: strong written and verbal communication skills, leadership qualities, and an interest in sharing knowledge and developing peers
• Preferred: experience with Visual Studio, Windows and Linux development environments, DevSecOps, and agile methodologies
• Preferred: strong object-oriented programming and C++ skills, including STL and templates; scripting experience with languages such as Python or Perl
• Preferred: experience with source control tools such as Git, SVN, or ClearCase; ALM tools such as JIRA, Confluence, or Crucible; and GitLab CI/CD

• Design, develop, integrate, and test software with cross-functional agile teams, delivering solutions within budget, scope, and schedule constraints
• Take ownership of committed objectives and contribute to feature analysis and decomposition
• Influence program-level decisions affecting cost, schedule, and technical performance
• Drive sound technical solutions and decisions, debug multithreaded software, and work independently with limited supervision
• Mentor early-career engineers, support onboarding, recognize colleagues contributions, and help the team meet its objectives
• Lead bidding and proposal activities in support of acquiring new business
• Contribute to software and systems engineering requirements capture and analysis
• Travel to domestic and international customer locations to support training events and product installations

• Confluence
• DevSecOps
• Git
• GitLab
• Support
• JIRA
• Linux
• Perl
• Python
• Security
• SVN
• Visual Studio
• Windows
• CI/CD
• Flow
• OOP

More:

We are hiring a Principal Software Engineer for our Strategic Defense Solutions business area in Sterling, Virginia. At RTX, we bring together teams across aerospace and defense to address complex challenges; through Collins Aerospace, we develop advanced solutions for customers around the world. Our teams build realistic simulators and training systems for military and commercial customers, ranging from desktop training to high-fidelity weapon-system and full-flight simulators. In this role, you will become a technical subject matter expert for complex, multi-platform training software and user interfaces while working closely with customers and program leaders. The position is primarily onsite and involves work in a classified lab. We offer a competitive benefits package that may include health, dental, and vision coverage; vacation and other paid leave; retirement contributions and 401(k) matching; tuition reimbursement; loan repayment assistance; insurance options; wellness and family-care programs; and relocation assistance for eligible employees. The posted salary range is $118,300–$224,900, with offers based on factors including experience, location, education, and skills. Incentive compensation may also be available, subject to program terms and applicable factors.

last updated 40 week of 2026