Senior Software Programmer

Job Family:

Software Development & Support

Travel Required:

Up to 10%

Clearance Required:

Active Top Secret (TS)

Overview

We’re seeking a highly experienced Senior Software Programmer (SME Level) to provide expert‑level software engineering, architecture guidance, and modernization leadership across mission‑critical Department of Justice (DOJ) programs. In this role, you will act as a senior technical authority, shaping enterprise design decisions, mentoring technical teams, and leading complex software initiatives within secure, highly regulated environments. Your work will directly support DOJ missions and enable national‑level justice and security outcomes.

What You Will Do

• Serve as a technical SME for enterprise programming, secure application architecture, and modernization strategies across DOJ projects.
• Architect, design, and develop complex, scalable software systems and APIs supporting DOJ mission workflows and cross‑agency integrations.
• Lead modernization including cloud migration, service decomposition, containerization, and re‑platforming of legacy systems.
• Define and enforce advanced CI/CD strategies, DevSecOps automation, secure build pipelines, and artifact governance.
• Establish and ensure rigorous compliance with RMF, STIG, FIPS 140‑2, FedRAMP High, and DOJ/IC cybersecurity requirements.
• Oversee contributions to ATO packages, including security documentation, remediation planning, test evidence, and continuous monitoring.
• Direct performance optimization, distributed tracing, observability patterns, and system tuning across complex environments.
• Guide Agile teams through architectural decisions, technical grooming, code quality reviews, and engineering best practices.
• Mentor developers across experience levels and lead technical communities of practice, coding standards, and reusable framework development.
• Provide senior‑level troubleshooting, incident support, and operational continuity within SCIF environments.

What You Will Need

• U.S. Citizenship
• Active Top Secret (TS) Clearance with SCI or the ability to obtain SCI
• Twelve (12)+ years of progressive software development experience, with demonstrated SME‑level leadership in federal, secure, or regulated environments.
• Expert‑level proficiency with one or more core programming stacks:
  • Java/Spring Boot, .NET/C#, Python (FastAPI/Flask/Django), or Node.js (Express/Nest)
• Extensive experience building enterprise‑grade REST APIs, distributed systems, and relational database solutions using PostgreSQL or Oracle.
• Deep experience with CI/CD and DevSecOps tooling (GitLab CI, Jenkins, GitHub Actions), including secure pipeline orchestration.
• Advanced understanding of secure coding: encryption, secrets management, PKI, authN/Z, mTLS, OWASP patterns, and protocol hardening.
• Thorough experience with RMF, STIGs, secure configuration, and compliance engineering in DOJ/DoD/IC environments.
• Strong cloud engineering background in AWS GovCloud or Azure Government, plus Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform/CloudFormation).
• Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts to mission leadership, engineering teams, and cross‑discipline partners.
• Education: BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience (advanced degrees or SME‑level certifications preferred).

Nice to Have

• Experience directly supporting DOJ components such as FBI, DEA, ATF, EOIR, BOP, USAO, or similar law enforcement agencies.
• Expertise with distributed data technologies: Kafka, Kinesis, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, NiFi.
• Proficiency in observability & SecOps tooling: Splunk, CloudWatch, Prometheus/Grafana, SonarQube, ZAP, Trivy.
• Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks: CJIS, NIEM, FISMA, FedRAMP High, Section 508.
• Experience with modern messaging and integration tools: gRPC, GraphQL, RabbitMQ, SQS/SNS, EventBridge.
• Advanced test automation skills: JUnit, pytest, Cypress/Playwright, Pact for contract testing.
• Deep experience integrating identity and security frameworks (OAuth2/OIDC, SAML, PKI, KMS/HSM).
• Experience with Red Hat OpenShift, service mesh (Istio/Linkerd), and policy controls (OPA/Gatekeeper).
• Certifications: AWS/Azure GovCloud, Security+, CASP+, CISSP, CKA/CKAD, DoD 8570/8140 certifications.

Desired Additional Skills

• Strong experience designing data governance and lifecycle models for sensitive/controlled information.
• Expertise in secure secrets/configuration management using AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault.
• Proven ability to develop high‑quality technical documentation for ATO packages (ADRs, runbooks, system diagrams).
• Skilled in diagnosing and resolving complex production issues under strict change‑controlled processes.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving enterprise coding standards and reusable framework libraries.
• Comfortable working within SCIF procedures and supporting structured workflows via ServiceNow or Jira.

The annual salary range for this position is $149,000.00-$248,000.00. Compensation decisions depend on a wide range of factors, including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, security clearances, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs.

What We Offer:

Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.

Benefits include:

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance

• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays

• Parental Leave

• 401(k) Retirement Plan

• Group Term Life and Travel Assistance

• Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance

• Health Savings Account, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts

• Transit and Parking Commuter Benefits

• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability

• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development, Certifications & Learning Opportunities

• Employee Referral Program

• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach

• Care.com annual membership

• Employee Assistance Program

• Supplemental Benefits via Corestream (Critical Care, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Assistance and ID theft protection, etc.)

• Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer–Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.

Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@guidehouse.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation.

All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or guidehouse@myworkday.com.  Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse.  Note that Guidehouse will never charge a fee or require a money transfer at any stage of the recruitment process and does not collect fees from educational institutions for participation in a recruitment event. Never provide your banking information to a third party purporting to need that information to proceed in the hiring process.

If any person or organization demands money related to a job opportunity with Guidehouse, please report the matter to Guidehouse’s Ethics Hotline. If you want to check the validity of correspondence you have received, please contact recruiting@guidehouse.com. Guidehouse is not responsible for losses incurred (monetary or otherwise) from an applicant’s dealings with unauthorized third parties.

Guidehouse does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Guidehouse and Guidehouse will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.