External Title Java Software Engineer - Space Domain

Responsibilities

Peraton is seeking a Software Developer in Herndon, VA or Aurora, CO to support Intelligence Community and DoD customers as part of a talented, high-performing team. As part of this team you will work with emerging service and distributed computing technologies for satellite situational awareness (SSA) data processing and distribution.

The EMMETT program, a next gen Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Indications and Warning (I&W) system, establishes a repository of resident space objects (RSOs), finds RSOs of interest, and provides data to ground operators. The EMMETT team uses: programmatics, sensor modeling, and system engineering expertise to deliver this world-class SDA I&W system.

What you'll do:

• Provide TS/SCI Java software sustainment and maintenance support for existing mission systems and applications. Focus on system stability, performance, reliability, and operational readiness rather than new feature development.
• Troubleshoot, diagnose, and resolve production issues across application modules, services, and interfaces. Perform corrective actions, bug fixes, and root cause analysis to restore service quickly.
• Maintain, patch, and enhance existing Java-based applications, including code updates required for security, compliance, compatibility, and operational improvements.
• Support software analysis, engineering, integration, and configuration management activities at the unit, module, and system levels for deployed environments.
• Monitor application health, logs, and system behavior using error logging, exception handling, and operational monitoring tools.
• Support deployment, release, and environment management activities across development, test, and production systems.
• Adhere to open standards, secure coding practices, change management controls, and established operational procedures.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, SOPs, runbooks, reports, and white papers related to sustainment, maintenance actions, and system operations.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, cybersecurity, and operations teams to ensure system availability and mission continuity.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience; OR Master’s degree with 4+ years of relevant experience. Additional four (4) years of experience may be considered in lieu of a bachelor’s degree.
• This position requires the candidate possess a minimum of Top Secret clearance with ability to upgrade to TS/SCI and pass a polygraph within 30 days of employment or at customer request. Contract requires TS/SCI with polygraph. Candidate must maintain clearance.
• 2+ years of experience with Java in production or enterprise environments.
• Experience supporting existing applications through troubleshooting, defect resolution, patching, and maintenance.
• 1+ years of experience working with microservices and containerization technologies, including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with backend frameworks such as Spring Framework or Spring Boot.
• Experience supporting APIs using REST architectural principles.
• Experience with Linux or Windows server environments and basic application administration.
• Ability to obtain a DoD 8570 certification, including CompTIA Security+ or CISSP, within 6 months of start date.

Desired

• Experience with production support, incident response, and SLA-driven operational environments.
• Experience with network security, including access and authorization for PKI and chain of trust.
• Experience writing or maintaining unit tests and regression / E2E testing.
• Knowledge of Apache NiFi and Apache Kafka.
• Knowledge of Jira, Confluence, Git, and Git Lab.
• Ability to investigate recurring issues, identify root causes, and implement preventive corrective actions.
• TS/SCI clearance with polygraph.
• Current DoD…