Kearney Activate - Full Stack Developer

As an early-career Full Stack Developer, you're being hired for aptitude and trajectory as much as experience. This role is genuinely full-stack — front end and back end in equal measure, not weighted toward one side the way our senior full-stack role is. It's not a UX design role: you're not expected to run wireframe workshops or own visual design. We're looking for someone with strong fundamentals, real curiosity, and the ability to learn fast, not a fixed number of years.

You'll work across the front end and back end with senior developers and a data scientist close by to guide you. You may have some exposure to data fundamentals, but you're not expected to be a practicing data engineer — you can ramp into data tasks over time if you're interested, without being loaded down with formal QA duties. Forge pods are small, so from day one you'll also be exposed to real client conversations, not shielded from them — this is not a back-office, heads-down-only role.

What you'll do

Build front-end components, interfaces, and application logic in React/Type Script, and back-end services/APIs in Python, developing genuine range across the stack under senior guidance

Build basic familiarity with data fundamentals as part of your growth on the team, without being expected to practice data engineering

Work within a modern collaborative SDLC:
Git branching and pull requests, peer code review, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing

Deploy and troubleshoot in secure cloud environments with senior support

Take direction from architects, senior developers, and product owners, and translate it into working, well-tested code

Participate fully in agile delivery: sprint planning, backlog refinement, estimation, testing, and release

Sit in on client conversations and pod discussions, building the business-facing communication skills that will matter throughout your career here

Apply modern AI/GenAI tools as part of how you learn and build — using coding assistants and similar tools well is an expected skill, not an advanced one

Take feedback well, learn quickly, and raise your engineering craft against team standards

Who you are

After nearly 100 years, we know this business is fundamentally about making connections — between facts, technologies, and above all, people. We look for collaborative, inquisitive problem-solvers who don't accept the first thing in front of them, who are always unapologetically themselves, and who are hungry to grow fast in a small, high-trust team.

In addition, we look for individuals with the following experience or qualities:

Roughly 1-3 years of experience, or equivalent aptitude demonstrated through coursework, personal projects, internships, bootcamp work, or a portfolio — we weight trajectory and fundamentals over a strict years threshold

Genuine curiosity and fast learning velocity; you pick up new tools and concepts quickly and don't need everything spelled out

An early instinct for genuine full-stack versatility — comfortable in both front-end and back-end work equally, not leaning toward one side the way our senior full-stack role does; building UI, not design/UX

Some natural interest in data is welcome, though there's no expectation of practicing data engineering — this grows on the job, without formal QA overload

Real interest in the business side of the work, not just the code. Forge pods are small, and everyone on them needs to be able to engage with why the work matters

No industry-vertical background expected at this stage — you'll build fluency in aerospace & defense, manufacturing, supply chain, or similar context on the job

Comfortable operating in fast-paced, iterative, client-facing environments

Clear written and verbal communication

Comfortable using modern AI/GenAI tools day to day, or eager to build that fluency quickly

Required qualifications

Ability to obtain, or current possession of, a U.S. Secret security clearance is required; an active or prior clearance is a strong plus

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science , Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field — or equivalent demonstrated experience (bootcamp, military technical training, or a…