Cloud Software Engineer 3 (TS/SCI Clearance with Full Scope Polygraph Required)

Cloud Software Engineer 3 (TS/SCI Clearance with Full Scope Polygraph Required)

Annapolis, United States | Posted on 10/01/2026

Clearance Requirement: Active TS/SCI with Polygraph

Salary Range: $199,000 – $238,000 / year (dependent on experience, education, and skill set)

About the Role

Seeking a senior Cloud Software Engineer 3 to design, develop, and optimize complex, large-scale Big Data cloud architectures and distributed systems in Annapolis Junction, MD.

In this role, you will contribute across all stages of back-end processing, distributed computing, information retrieval (IR), and data indexing. You will leverage the Hadoop ecosystem and modern cloud technologies to architect robust software solutions, translate high-level system requirements into scalable code, resolve complex technical issues, and ensure seamless data ingestion and analytics across multi-node environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, test, and maintain distributed Big Data cloud systems and back-end processing pipelines.
• Implement custom Java applications, RESTful web services, and MapReduce analytics for large-scale data sets.
• Build and integrate software interfacing with Cloud Bigtable, Distributed File Systems (HDFS), and Distributed Coordination Frameworks (e.g., ZooKeeper).
• Design and execute workflows for ingesting, parsing, normalizing, and indexing disparate data formats (XML, JSON, CSV, Avro, Sequence/Map files, and binary formats).
• Manage, configure, and debug multi-node cloud installations across virtualized and bare-metal Linux/CentOS environments.
• Secure distributed applications using PKI certificates, firewalls, server authentication, and enterprise identity services.
• Provide technical leadership on hardware/software trade-offs, COTS/GOTS integration, and software component reuse.
• Profile and optimize Java Virtual Machine (JVM) memory allocation and application performance.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI with Polygraph.
• Experience & Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related discipline plus 12 years of software engineering experience (with at least 4 years focused on Big Data cloud technologies and/or distributed computing), OR 16 years of relevant software engineering experience without a degree (4 additional years of Big Data experience substituting for the degree).

Substitutions: A Master’s degree in Computer Science/related field substitutes for 2 years of experience. A Cloudera Certified Hadoop Developer certification substitutes for 1 year of cloud experience.

Cloud & Distributed Computing

• 2+ years in Cloud/Distributed Information Retrieval (IR).
• 1+ year each in Cloud Bigtable development, Cloud Distributed File Systems (HDFS), complex MapReduce analytics, Distributed Coordination Frameworks, cloud architecture, multi-node cloud management, and debugging distributed frameworks.

Cloud & Containers

• Working knowledge of commercial cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) for indexing, searching, and analytics.
• Familiarity with Apache NiFi (NiagaraFiles) dataflow management.
• Infrastructure automation experience using Ansible, Python, or Bash scripting.
• Strong background leading agile (Scrum) development efforts, establishing software quality standards, and mentoring junior engineering teams.

Benefits & Compensation

• Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Basic Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Tuition Reimbursement for continuing education and advanced certifications

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.