Description

The DarkStar Group is seeking a Senior Software Engineer with a Top Secret clearance to join one of our top projects in Herndon, VA. Below is an overview of the project, as well as information on our company, our benefits, and our $25,000 referral program.

THE PROJECT

The DarkStar Group's team solves unique and challenging intelligence problems for a Special Operations customer. This work is as close to the mission as a technologist can get, so the environment is fast-paced: team members face rapidly-changing requirements and priorities as mission needs evolve. If you hate monotony and want to use your skills to have a direct impact on real-world operational success, this is the project for you.

We are a multi-faceted software development and systems administration team working to build and maintain software applications backed by a self-managed cloud infrastructure (OpenStack) with a true big-data footprint (over 10 petabytes). Our diverse background of experience in mission support and software development serves as a catalyst to solve unique and challenging intelligence problems in support of special operations analysts and their on-going activities. Prototyping and frequent, iterative feedback are core to our delivery approach, anchored by a need to work quickly in support of our missions.

The technical stack is quite robust and includes Java, Python, C#, C/C , Geospatial tools, Big Data and Graph Products (Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark, ElasticSearch, Neo4j), Linux, OpenStack, AWS, Ansible, SQL/NoSQL, Text Processing, Cloud Services, Containerization, Infrastructure as Code (IAC), and more.

Work on this program takes place in the Herndon, VA area (we cannot support remote work) and requires a TS clearance and a willingness to obtain a CI Poly: a current TS/SCI CI Poly is preferred.

THE ROLE

• Developing web applications for real-time query and analysis of our petabyte-scale data store, creating distributed analytics purpose-built to support our mission partners, and helping to construct new and maintain existing data pipelines tasked with automatically retrieving and ingesting data. 
• Your Career: We’re very serious about professional development and continuing education. We offer everyone the opportunity to define their own career trajectory. Supporting our people in the pursuit of becoming true experts in their craft enables not only individual growth but also the collective team to have a high degree of mission impact. We strive to create an environment where team members can do their best work. We provide resources to support learning, set aside time for dedicated professional development and offer benefits that enrich our team members’ lives. 

Required Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering or a related field (4 additional years of experience may be substituted for a Bachelor’s degree. A Master's degree may count as an additional 2 years of experience.).
• 8 years demonstrated experience with programming, design, and/or development. 
• Basic knowledge in Python, Java, Javascript, or similar programming language. 
• Working knowledge of agile software development practices and tools, such as GitLab 
• Working knowledge of containerization (Docker, Podman) and container orchestration (Kubernetes, Nomad, etc).
• Working knowledge of Linux operating systems (navigating the filesystem, common management commands, etc)
• Exposure to building and supporting solutions in a cloud like environment (such as OpenStack).

Desired Skills (Optional)

• Experience deploying, maintaining, and utilizing an Elasticsearch cluster.
• Experience with Spark. 
• Experience with Hadoop (HDFS, YARN)
• Experience using Python web frameworks (Django, FastAPI, etc)
• Experience with ORM software (Django, SQLAlchemy, Hibernate, etc)
• Experience with front-end development using React, Angular, or other JS framework.
• Understanding of TCP/IP networking and working knowledge of remote system workflows (SSH, port forwarding, server/client architecture, etc) 
• API Rest Framework development/maintenance.
• Data flow orchestration using Nifi or similar.
• Experience with provision and configuration management tools such as Ansible, Terraform, or similar.
• You are a creative and driven problem-solver who wants to apply breakthrough technologies to support a platform actively used by thousands of users supporting mission.
• Working knowledge of agile software development practices and tools, such as GitLab
• Strong verbal, written, and organizational skills. 

About The DarkStar Group

Our Company

The DarkStar Group is a small business that solves BIG problems. We're one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the US, and our engineers and scientists support the most critical national security missions in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere. Data Science, Software Engineering, Cloud/AWS Infrastructure, and Cyber/CNO are our core areas of expertise. We offer interesting and important work, job security, some of the best and most flexible benefits you'll find in the IC, and salaries so strong that they'll likely surprise you. 

Our Benefits

The DarkStar Group offers exceptional compensation and benefits:

• very strong salaries;
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for you and all dependents;
• the ability to get increased salary if you don't need medical/dental/vision;
• 100% company-paid disability and life insurance benefits;
• a generously-funded HSA;
• an 8% 401(k) contribution; 
• 31 days of PTO/holidays to start (more with tenure);
• the ability to flex time across pay periods without using your PTO;
• a generous training budget;
• $25,000 employee referral bonuses;
• business development / growth incentives; and
• top notch company swag.

** We have a huge growth opportunity, so we are offering up to a $25,000 reward for anyone new you refer whom we hire. **
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.