Senior Software Engineer - Zarf Team

Role Description

Defense Unicorns seeks an experienced Software Engineer to work on our open source products. You’ll collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and end users to ensure we’re building the right solutions—and building them well.

As a Software Engineer, you’ll operate at the intersection of product development and technical execution. You’ll lead the design, implementation, and deployment of features and systems that have direct impact on mission outcomes.

As an open source steward, you’ll effectively bridge product development with open source contribution. You will help to directly support our dependencies and engage in contributions that elevate the ecosystems that we depend on.

Responsibilities:

• Work with engineers internal to the company, and within the open source community on feature and bug fix requests, through clear communication, collaboration, and responsible stewardship.
• Engage with the open source community, industry partners, and standards bodies via common platforms (e.g., Slack, Github, etc.) to help drive our open source projects forward.
• Amplify the voice of our projects within the ecosystem by delivering a mission-focused end-user experience and collaborating with users to produce case studies, blogs, or conference presentations.
• Proactively identify and resolve ambiguity in product requirements.
• Comfortable working proactively, managing time efficiently, and thriving in a vibrant remote work environment.
• Integrate software products with existing defense systems, ensuring seamless interoperability and adherence to security protocols.
• Own architecture decisions and ensure technical quality across the engineering team.
• Develop comprehensive documentation, including design specifications (via Zarf Enhancement Proposals), user manuals, and maintenance guides.
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends to inform product enhancements and innovation.
• Provide technical mentorship and elevate engineering standards across the team.
• Influence product direction through deep understanding of user needs and system constraints.

Travel Expectations/Requirements: 5-15%

The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience with software engineering.
• Experience building a software tool with core focuses on software lifecycle and management.
• Proficient in Go (proficiency in other modern programming languages a plus).
• Strong understanding of system design, library and software APIs, and cloud architecture (e.g., AWS, Azure).
• Excited to assess intricate problems, propose solutions, and implement them effectively.
• Experience contributing to Open Source Projects. Participating in Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Apache Software Foundation (ASF), or Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) is a huge plus.
• Familiar with Core Kubernetes Concepts including but not limited to Controllers, Operators, and CRDs.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, comfortable conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Requirements

Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed. At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role!

Benefits

• Health:
  • Medical/Dental/Vision
  • Premiums are 100% Company Paid
  • Health Savings Account
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
• Financial:
  • 401k Retirement Plan
  • Company Stock Options
  • Home Office Budget
• Leave:
  • Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s.
  • Paid Parental Leave.
• Learning:
  • Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions.
  • Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees).

Company Description

Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.