Software Engineer, Java Developer, Backend Developer

Title:

Software Engineer Belong. Connect. Grow. with K !

K ’s National Security Solutions team provides high-end engineering and advanced technology solutions to our customers in the intelligence and national security communities. In this position, your work will have a profound impact on the country’s most critical role – protecting our national security.

K  is seeking a highly motivated Software Engineer to join us in supporting our great nation, supporting the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) development team in Colorado Springs, CO.Why Join Us?

Innovative Projects:
At K , you'll be working on prototype projects that support the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s most mission-critical objectives. The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable war fighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force.  

Collaborative Environment: K  fosters a dynamic and collaborative atmosphere where cross-functional teams of product managers, engineers, developers, and defense experts work in unison. We practice Agile and Dev Ops principles, ensuring rapid iteration, continuous feedback, and integration across all projects. Our team is passionate, forward-thinking, and united by a mission-first mindset that encourages knowledge sharing, innovation, and problem-solving at every level.

Impactful Work:
Your work here won’t just be limited to software development—it will directly support the Air Force in expanding current national capabilities. As the Air Force's leader for National-to-Tactical capability development, AFRL collaborates with leading experts across the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, National Laboratories, industry, inter-agency, academia, and partner nations.

Key Responsibilities:

Design, develop, and maintain software for high‑velocity data stream processing systems

Implement features and enhancements from requirements through delivery

Write clean, efficient, and maintainable code with an emphasis on performance and reliability

Develop and execute unit and integration tests to ensure software quality

Participate in code reviews and contribute to shared coding standards and best practices

Collaborate with cross‑functional engineering teams to deliver end‑to‑end solutions

Troubleshoot and resolve software issues across development and production environments

Work Environment:

Location:

Colorado Springs, CO – 100% Onsite Travel Requirements:
Minimal

Working Hours:

Standard

Required Qualifications:

Security Clearance:
Active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility, which is something only a U.S. Citizen can obtain

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related technical field3–5 years of professional software development experience

Experience across the full software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering and design through implementation, testing, and delivery2+ years of hands‑on experience with Java, Python, or another object‑oriented programming language

Experience building software systems with an emphasis on throughput, reliability, and high availability, particularly for data‑focused applications

Experience developing data processing or integration tools that handle multiple message formats (e.g., XML, Protocol Buffers)
Proficiency with modern development workflows, including version control systems, collaboration tools, and documentation

Desired

Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field

Working knowledge of MIL‑STD‑6016 and MIL‑STD‑3011

Experience applying Test‑Driven Development (TDD) principles and patterns

Experience…