Sr. Software Engineer

Sr. Software Engineer

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Employment Type: Contract to Perm

Job Location Requirement: Onsite

Security & Citizenship Requirements

Due to U.S. federal research contract requirements, candidates must be U.S. Citizens. Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain an active Secret security clearance.

Role Overview

An experienced Senior Software Engineer is sought to support high-impact programs for U.S. government sponsors. This role involves designing, developing, testing, and deploying software for complex autonomous systems. The position requires technical leadership across the software development lifecycle, guiding development teams, and ensuring solutions meet sponsor, safety, and security requirements.

Project/Unit Description

Our Apex client is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to support a full-time research-focused position within an advanced autonomy and systems engineering division. This organization conducts research in support of U.S. Department of Defense sponsors, with a primary focus on autonomous and uncrewed aircraft programs. Core areas of expertise include autonomous systems, systems engineering, avionics engineering, embedded software development, and test and evaluation.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, debug, enhance, and document software solutions for complex systems.
• Apply computing and engineering principles to define system requirements and software designs aligned with hardware limitations.
• Lead and contribute to software architecture, design reviews, and code reviews.
• Manage feature development branches, production releases, and issue triage.
• Develop and deploy software to Linux target systems and test environments.
• Create software development estimates and support project planning.
• Author technical reports, documentation, and presentations.
• Compile and integrate technical content from multidisciplinary teams into final deliverables.
• Lead and contribute to white papers, proposals, and future research initiatives.
• Support and guide development teams through technical leadership and mentoring.
• Collaborate directly with sponsors to curate requirements, define sprint work items, and prioritize development backlogs.

Additional Responsibilities

• Serve as a subject matter expert for software engineering tools and technologies.
• Act as a maintainer of large, multi-language codebases, enforcing code quality, stability, and security standards.
• Manage and review overall software requirements and design artifacts.
• Deliver technical briefings and presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure software complies with military, safety, and security standards.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Experience developing software for complex systems using disciplined engineering processes.
• Experience managing software development across the full project lifecycle.
• Experience developing, integrating, or testing unmanned autonomous system capabilities.
• Strong experience with C and C++ software development.
• Experience with Python and Bash scripting.
• Experience developing and deploying software on Linux systems.
• Experience with multi-threaded and multi-process applications.
• Working knowledge of software inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms, including shared memory, pub-sub messaging, and RPC.
• Understanding of design tradeoffs for distributed systems.
• Experience with containerized software development.
• Experience leading sponsored research efforts and working directly with external sponsors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance.
• Experience providing technical leadership for complex, high-value engineering programs.
• Experience with software architectures, requirements definition, and interface design for autonomous systems.
• Experience developing and fielding autonomous system solutions.
• Background supporting military or defense-related unmanned air systems (UAS/UAV).
• Familiarity with open systems architecture frameworks (e.g., FACE™, OMS/UCI).

Education and Length of Experience

This is an open-rank position, with the final level determined based on qualifications and experience. Accepted disciplines include Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.

• A Bachelor's degree with 9+ years of related experience.
• A Master's degree with 7+ years of related experience.
• A PhD with 4+ years of related experience.

Travel Requirements

Travel for this position is approximately 10%-25%.

Compensation & Benefits

This position has a salary range of $155,340.00 to $202,200.00 and a contract pay rate range of $70.00 to $100.00 per hour. Specific compensation will be determined based on experience and qualifications. A comprehensive benefits package is available to eligible employees.

This employer is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

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Everforth Apex is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Everforth Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRateds Best of Staffing® in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work® in the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Everforth Apex uses a virtual recruiter as part of the application process. Click here for more details. By applying for this job, you agree to receive calls, AI-generated calls, text messages, or emails from Everforth Apex and its affiliates, and contracted partners. Frequency varies for text messages. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. You can reply STOP to cancel and HELP for help. You can access our privacy policy at

Everforth Apex Benefits Overview: Everforth Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Everforth Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Everforth Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Everforth Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Everforth Apex team member can provide.

Everforth Apex Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, disability, status as a crime victim, protected veteran status, political affiliation, union membership, or any other characteristic protected by law. Everforth Apex will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law.

If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to participate in an interview with a virtual recruiter or to use our website for a search or application, please contact our Benefits Department at [email protected] or View phone number on click.appcast.io. Please note that this contact information is strictly to be used for medical ADA accommodations and that no other inquiries will be answered.

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