Software Engineer

Space Force – Software Engineer (Contract‑to‑Hire)

ACARA Solutions and our client located in Scottsdale, AZ have 3 contract‑to‑hire positions available. This role may be hybrid, possibly remote, or in one of the following locations:
Scottsdale, AZ;
Manassas, VA;
Taunton, MA;
Colorado Springs, CO;
Pittsfield, MA.

• Act as a key member of a cross‑functional team developing and deploying state‑of‑the‑art ground operational systems for the SDA GMI program.
• Develop mission‑critical software for satellites, space sensors, command‑and‑control systems, launch operations, and ground systems.
• Design, code, test, and deploy secure and reliable software in languages such as Python, Java, C++, or Ada.
• Support space operations by enabling real‑time data processing, tracking, telemetry, navigation, and communications.
• Ensure cybersecurity and resilience against cyber threats and electronic warfare.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams—including engineers, operators, intelligence analysts, and contractors—to meet mission requirements.
• Maintain and upgrade legacy systems while integrating modern Dev Sec Ops  and cloud‑based solutions.
• Analyze system performance and failures and implement improvements to ensure mission readiness.
• Comply with DoD standards for safety, security, documentation, and software lifecycle management.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering, Science, Engineering, Technology, or Mathematics with at least 2 years of related experience.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in prompt engineering and AI tools to accelerate workloads.

• Master’s Degree with 6 months of experience or equivalent.
• Agile experience.
• Proficiency in Python and Java.
• Good understanding of API design, testing, development, and management.
• Familiarity with Scaled Agile methodology and best practices.
• Knowledge of Dev Ops principles, including CI/CD pipelines, Git Ops, automation, configuration management, and infrastructure as code.
• Experience with AWS (AWS Solutions Architect preferred) and Azure.
• Familiarity with containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Understanding of security best practices, risk, compliance, vulnerability management, encryption, PKI, incident response, auditing, and monitoring.
• Excellent problem‑solving and analytical skills.
• Proficient in generating documentation and sharing knowledge.
• Experience with Git Lab, Nexus Managed Artifacts, Ansible, Terragrunt, ArgoCD, VS Code, Maven, and AWS services (EKS, EC2, Lambda, S3, EBS/EFS, VPC, DNS, IAM, KMS, Cloud Watch, Cloud Trail).
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, ACAS/Grype vulnerability scanning, SIEM (Splunk), Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana).
• Proficiency in Git, Jira, Confluence.

• Upon offer of employment, the individual will be subject to a background check and a drug screen.
• All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
• Successful candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret DoD security clearance.

Aleron companies (Acara Solutions, Aleron Shared Resources, Broadleaf Results, Lume Strategies, Talent Rise, Viaduct) are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Race/Color/Gender/Religion/National Origin/Disability/Veteran.

Applicants for this position must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position does not meet the employment requirements for individuals with F‑1 OPT STEM work authorization status.