Senior Principal Software Engineer (TS/SCI)

ARKA Group L.P. (“ARKA”) is an advanced technologies company serving the U.S. military, intelligence community, and commercial space industry delivering next-generation solutions to support the national security space enterprise. Built on more than six decades of excellence, ARKA brings modern approaches and a culture of innovation to the challenges of today.

Join the ARKA team to learn how Beyond Begins Here. Discover your next career opportunity now!

Position Overview:

This position is for a Sr. Principal Software Engineer.  In this role, you will be responsible for technical leadership, system design, and implementation of complex government system architectures for national critical systems. You will be a key decision maker in defining "how" a system will be implemented to meet its requirements.  This responsibility is expected to evolve over the course of a program and includes fostering customer intimacy to ensure full understanding of the customer's needs and then working with the chief engineer to realize that vision.

We are looking for someone who is customer mission focused and passionate about providing technical leadership in software architecture and design of complex government systems. Additionally, you should have the ability to create systems designed based upon requirements analysis, develop system architectures for enterprise level systems, create and maintain interface definition APIs, and perform software design tasks. This candidate will be joining our team of distributed engineers to help shape the development and delivery of custom applications and advanced R&D solutions for our customers. In addition, you'll have the opportunity to grow and hone your skills with other talented individuals at ARKA.  

We offer generous relocation benefits for eligible candidates.

In support of work/life balance, many positions are available for a flexible schedule within the pay period.  Ask us about the opportunity for flex scheduling if that’s of interest to you. 

Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor engineering development teams across the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to ensure program and technical success
• Apply deep technical expertise to define technical objectives, analyze complex engineering challenges, and drive effective solutions
• Evaluate the quality and efficacy of engineering deliverables, including software design, development practices, documentation, and deployment processes
• Proactively communicate engineering status, risks, and issues related to system performance, availability, and security to program leadership and the customer
• Conduct technical exchange meetings with government customers to present engineering designs and facilitate the review and approval process
• Continuously evaluate and recommend emerging technologies to enhance the performance and capabilities of software systems

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related technical field
• 10+ years of professional software development experience
• Demonstrated experience as a Chief Architect, Associate Chief Architect, or equivalent technical leadership role, guiding teams through the full software development lifecycle and successfully deploying capabilities into classified government operational environments
• Strong cross-functional communication skills and proven ability to collaborate effectively within small, fast-paced teams, managing multiple tasks to meet program milestones and deadlines
• Proven track record of leading Agile software engineering initiatives across all phases, including design, development, configuration, integration, testing, and delivery to end-users
• Experience in large-scale system design and deployments on cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure), with a deep understanding of architectural principles for scalability
• Familiarity with leveraging cloud services for Kubernetes deployments and management, virtual machine management, object storage, and serverless functions
• Ability to translate in-depth system engineering analysis into actionable software development concepts and implementations
• Experience in code review processes, ensuring technical soundness, adherence to coding standards, and adequate testing (including unit and integration tests)
• Demonstrated experience working on projects with geographically distributed teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience engaging effectively with virtual teams
• Active TS/SCI U.S. Government Security Clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong business acumen with a proven ability to align technical solutions with business objectives
• Experience developing software on cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, with a solid understanding of cloud-native architectures and design principles
• Familiarity with cloud services for container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), virtual machine management, object storage, and serverless computing
• Hands-on experience in software application deployment, virtualization technologies, and containerization (e.g., Docker)
• Experience in one or more of the following areas:
• Satellite communication planning for individual satellites and constellations
• SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) and GEOINT (Geospatial Intelligence) data processing.
• Satellite command and control (C2) systems
• Satellite tasking for GEOINT and SIGINT collection
• Advanced mission planning for satellite operations, including payload operation and integration

Location: King of Prussia, PA

Situated less than an hour outside of Philadelphia and hosting the largest mall on the east coast, King of Prussia offers the urban feel sought in the city, while also giving opportunities to experience the beauty and history found only in Pennsylvania.

What We Offer:

• Comprehensive medical/vision/dental insurance packages
• Company contributions to qualified HSA accounts
• 401k retirement plan with industry leading company contributions
• 3 weeks of vacation accrual per year plus time off for sick leave and unscheduled life events
• 13 paid holidays
• Upfront tuition assistance for approved degree programs
• Annual bonus program based on company and employee performance
• Company paid life insurance, AD&D, Short-Term and Long-Term disability insurance
• 4 weeks paid Parental Leave
• Employee assistance program (EAP)

EHS/Environmental Requirements:

This job operates in a professional office environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee routinely is required to use hands to keyboard, communicate, listen to, and interpret instructions and remain stationary for extended periods of the time. This would require the ability to move around the campus and occasionally move/lift items weighing up to 25 lbs. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Applicants are invited to apply for a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the job. To apply, send a request to staffing@arka.org or contact 203-797-5000 and press 2 for Human Resources.

ITC & Security Clearance Requirements:

This position requires active TS/SCI U.S. Government Security Clearance.

Visa Restrictions:

No visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Pre-employment Screenings:

Employment with any ARKA companies in the U.S. is contingent upon satisfactory completion of several pre-employment requirements to include a credit check, background check, and drug screen.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities:

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.