Backend Java Developer; SME Security Clearance

Position: Backend Java Developer (SME) with Security Clearance
District Partners is supporting a specialized consulting group leading a major technology modernization initiative for a federal agency. This is a mission-critical environment where backend engineering directly impacts operations and system reliability  work is fast-paced, deeply technical, and spans distributed systems, microservices, cloud-native patterns, and high-volume data processing. Engineers who excel here typically bring a strong academic grounding from accredited US universities and professional experience within well-known federal contracting or enterprise engineering environments (Leidos, SAIC, CACI, BAE, Boeing, RTX, etc.).

The expectations are high, collaboration is tight, and the problems are complex. What You'll Do:
* Lead design and development of enterprise-scale, data-driven backend applications
* Build, optimize, and maintain microservices and RESTful APIs using modern Spring frameworks
* Partner with architects, data engineers, and data scientists to deliver end-to-end solutions
* Refactor legacy components, strengthen performance, and harden system reliability
* Document workflows, user stories, and technical decisions
* Mentor junior developers and support engineering best practices
* Participate in design reviews, solutioning sessions, and milestone planning What You'll Have:
* 12+ years' experience with a BS degree, or senior-level equivalent (20+ HS, 18+ AA, 9+ MS, 7+ PhD)
* Strong Java 8+ development experience; OOP fundamentals; XML/JSON
* Spring Framework (Microservices, REST APIs), Hibernate ORM
* Relational DB experience:
Oracle, MySQL, Postgre

SQL; advanced SQL skills
* Application servers:
Tomcat, Web Logic, Wild Fly, JBoss
* Containers:
Docker, Kubernetes, Open Shift
* AWS (EC2, RDS, S3) or similar cloud experience
* Build & source control:
Maven, Gradle, Bamboo, Git/Bitbucket
* Distributed systems exposure:
Hadoop, Spark, Impala, Elasticsearch, Solr, MySQL
* No

SQL:
Mongo

DB, Cassandra, DynamoDB
* CI/CD tools:
Jenkins, Bamboo
* Unix/Linux scripting
* Agile/Scrum delivery experience;
Jira/Confluence; IDEs such as Eclipse, Jupyter, Zeppelin This program offers long-term stability, complex engineering challenges, and immediate openings for senior-level backend developers who can operate independently and lead from the front.

Location:

Ashburn, VA (Onsite 5 days a week for the first year; hybrid available thereafter) Compensation: $70/hr-$75/hr, depending on experience (1099/C2C) Duration:
Multi-year federal modernization program Clearance:
Must be able to obtain a Public Trust Citizenship: US Citizen #CJ