Principal Software Engineer Security Clearance

Position: Principal Software Engineer with Security Clearance
Title:

Principal Software Engineer Belong. Connect. Grow. with K ! K  is seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer to support the MSEIT contract at Space Systems Command (SSC). This role combines hands-on software development, technical leadership, and architecture support across multiple mission-focused software teams supporting U.S. Space Force capabilities. Unlike engineers dedicated to a single application or team, this position operates across multiple development efforts, helping solve complex technical challenges, accelerate delivery, improve architectural consistency, and support integration across mission systems.

The successful candidate will be equally comfortable writing production code, reviewing architectural decisions, mentoring development teams, and collaborating with systems engineers, product owners, and mission stakeholders. This role serves as a technical force multiplier across the program and helps ensure consistency in engineering practices, architectural approaches, and software quality. The program is built around modern software engineering practices, event-driven architectures, cloud-native technologies, Dev Sec Ops , and CI/CD-oriented delivery approaches.

Why Join Us?
* Innovative Projects: K 's work is at the forefront of engineering, logistics, operations, science, program management, mission IT and cybersecurity solutions.

* Collaborative Environment:
Be part of a dynamic team that thrives on collaboration and innovation, fostering a supportive and intellectually stimulating workplace.

* Impactful Work:
Your contributions will be pivotal in designing and optimizing defense systems that ensure national security and shape the future of space defense. Responsibilities:
* Full Stack Development:
Design, develop, test, and maintain mission-critical software applications across front-end, back-end, and service layers.

* Technical Leadership:
Provide hands-on technical leadership and engineering guidance across multiple software teams.

* Architecture Development:
Help define and evolve application, integration, data, and event-driven architectures supporting enterprise mission objectives.

* Event-Driven Systems Design:
Design and implement scalable event-driven architectures supporting distributed mission systems.

* Enterprise Integration:
Develop and guide integration patterns supporting interoperability across mission applications and operational environments.

* Front-End Development:
Develop modern user interfaces using Angular and related technologies.

* Back-End Development:
Design and implement scalable services, APIs, and distributed application components.

* Cross-Team Problem Solving:
Assist teams in resolving complex software, performance, scalability, integration, and architectural challenges.

* Dev Sec Ops

Collaboration:

Partner with platform engineering and Dev Sec Ops  teams to improve software delivery pipelines, automation, observability, and deployment practices.

* Engineering Excellence:
Promote best practices in software design, code quality, testing, maintainability, resiliency, and security.

* Technical Mentorship:
Mentor engineers through design reviews, architecture discussions, code reviews, and collaborative development.

* Mission

Collaboration:

Work closely with systems engineers, product owners, users, and operational stakeholders to translate mission needs into technical solutions. Work Environment:

* Location:

El Segundo, CA (Work-from-home flexibility with on-site support as required)

* Travel Requirements:
Minimal

* Working Hours:

Standard

Required:

* Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance

* Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, or related technical field

* 10+ years of professional software development experience

* Extensive experience designing and developing distributed software systems

* Strong full stack development experience across modern web and enterprise application architectures

* Expert-level experience with Angular or similar modern front-end frameworks

* Strong experience designing and implementing scalable backend services and APIs

* Extensive experience with Kafka and event-driven architecture patterns

* Strong understanding of asynchronous messaging, event streaming, and distributed systems design

* Experience designing and implementing enterprise integration patterns

* Experience working within Agile software development environments

* Strong understanding of Dev Sec Ops  practices and CI/CD delivery pipelines

* Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction across multiple teams and projects

* Strong communication, leadership, and technical mentoring skills

* Proficient in Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) Desired:
* Active Secret or higher clearance

* Master's degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, or related technical field

* Experience supporting Space Systems Command (SSC), Space Operations Command (SpOC/CFC), or related DoD programs

*…