Senior Software Engineer

Overview

The NICHD Office of OIT requires continued planning and technical support for IT application and website development and maintenance, Section 508 Compliance, database and data mart support, application infrastructure support, and other technical services including but not limited to the support of new and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine learning (ML)/Robotic Process Automation (RPA), NICHD and/or NIH Wide. The focus of these IT support activities is creation, development, maintenance, operation, and support of a web application infrastructure that provides an efficient, effective, reliable, and secure computing environment in support of NICHD's and NIH's mission and supports staff in the efficient and effective utilization of these capabilities.

Background

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) was established as one of the 27 institutes and centers within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1962. NICHD's mission is to lead research and training to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and support enterprise application platforms and infrastructure supporting mission-critical federal systems.
• Collaborate with Government stakeholders, technical teams, and project leadership to deliver secure, scalable, and highly available application environments.
• Engineer, configure, administer, patch, and upgrade enterprise application platforms, including SharePoint Subscription Edition, SharePoint Online, K2 Nintex Automation, Power BI Gateway, and related technologies.
• Design, build, and maintain cloud-based solutions in Microsoft Azure, including virtual machines, Azure App Services, Key Vault, Private Link, Resource Groups, managed identities, and networking components.
• Develop and maintain automation solutions for application deployments, system monitoring, infrastructure management, and operational support using Azure DevOps, Jenkins, PowerShell, and scripting technologies.
• Build and manage CI/CD pipelines to automate application deployments across development, testing, staging, and production environments.
• Configure and maintain Linux and Windows server environments supporting enterprise applications, websites, and content management platforms.
• Support authentication and identity management technologies, including Microsoft Entra ID, OAuth, Windows Authentication, Claims Authentication, and federated identity solutions.
• Troubleshoot complex application, infrastructure, networking, authentication, and connectivity issues across cloud and on-premises environments.
• Configure and administer enterprise networking and security technologies, including F5 BIG-IP, F5 Silverline Web Application Firewall (WAF), SSL certificates, load balancing, traffic management, and firewall configurations.
• Develop automated monitoring solutions for applications, servers, websites, services, SSL certificates, scheduled jobs, and infrastructure components to improve system reliability and operational efficiency.
• Support enterprise application deployments, software upgrades, maintenance windows, and production releases while minimizing service disruptions.
• Collaborate with database, network, cybersecurity, and application development teams to support integrated enterprise solutions.
• Analyze application performance, web traffic, and system logs using tools such as Google Analytics, Splunk, and other monitoring platforms to identify trends and resolve operational issues.
• Perform vulnerability assessments, interpret security scan results, and remediate findings using enterprise security tools including Tenable Nessus and Netsparker.
• Support Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) compliance activities, including implementation of security controls, Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) management, vulnerability remediation, and security documentation.
• Contribute to Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A) and Authorization to Operate (ATO) activities by preparing technical documentation in accordance with NIST 800-53 and federal security requirements.
• Maintain system documentation, operational procedures, technical diagrams, and deployment guides to support ongoing operations and knowledge transfer.
• Participate in Change Advisory Board (CAB) activities, release planning, configuration management, and production change control processes.
• Provide technical leadership, mentor junior engineers, and promote software engineering, automation, and DevSecOps best practices across project teams.
• Support production operations by participating in on-call rotations and providing timely resolution of critical system issues outside normal business hours, as needed.

Qualifications

• 5 or more years' experience architecting, administering, patching, and configuring SharePointon premises 2016/2019/SE/SPO.
• Experience configuring SharePoint Online and migrating SharePoint sites from on-premises to SharePoint Online.
• Experience configuring and managing Power Gateway
• At least 5 years' experience configuring and upgrading Nintex K2 automation
• Experience configuring and managing F5 Silverline Web Application Firewall (WAF) Proxy, SSL, Threat Profiles settings as well as trouble shooting firewall and connectivity issues.
• More than 5 years' experience supporting Drupal 8/9/10/11 in Azure, creating resource groups, provisioning VMs, and associated resources, managing firewall rules via Network Security Groups.
• More than 5 years' experience supporting FISMA security assessment and authorization activities.
• Experience managing servers in Azure.

Education

Requires BS/BA degree in related field (or equivalent)

Compensation

Anticipated Salary Range: $125,000-$175,000

Actual compensation will be determined based on the selected candidate's experience, qualifications, certifications, and other business considerations.

This position is contingent upon contract award.

Location and Work Hours

Work Location: Fully Remote with occasional on site meetings in Bethesda, MD

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, Regular Business Hours

Benefits and EEO

At Ardent Eagle Solutions, we offer a comprehensive benefits package to our employees and their families:

• Medical/Dental/Vision Coverage
• Matching 401(k) Plan
• Continuing Education Assistance
• Paid Time Off
• Free parking is available for the night shift Operations Watch Officers

This job description is intended to describe the general scope of work and level of work that is needed to perform while on task with Ardent Eagle Solutions. Other duties may be assigned. Selected candidates may undergo a government security investigation and must fulfill eligibility criteria for accessing classified information. US citizenship may be a prerequisite for certain roles.

Ardent Eagle Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to disability or protected veteran status.