Staff Software Engineering Manager

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 Staff Software Engineering Manager. ARKA-Mission Applications is seeking a talented and motivated Software Engineering Manager to join our growing team. This is a unique player/coach role designed for an experienced software engineer who is passionate about both building great software and leading people. You will be responsible for managing and mentoring a team of skilled software engineers while also actively contributing technically to the design, development, testing, and deployment of our software products. You'll split your time effectively between guiding your team's success and rolling up your sleeves to write code, solve complex technical challenges, and contribute directly to our software ecosystem.

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:

Management & Leadership (Approx. 25% on average):

• Lead & Mentor: Manage, coach, and mentor a team of software engineers, fostering their technical and professional growth, by providing career advice and helping with program technical guidance. Additionally, you will work with the greater software engineering group to cultivate a positive, collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team that is focused on bringing modern software development mechanism to all ARKA programs
• Performance Management: Conduct regular 1:1 bi-weekly meetings with your team, provide feedback on both technical and non-technical topics, assist with setting clear goals, and manage performance reviews for your direct reports
• Collaboration: Work closely with software engineering organization and other engineering program teams to align priorities, define requirements, and ensure successful project delivery across programs
• Project Oversight: Help manage project priorities, timelines, and deliverables for your team, identifying and removing roadblocks
• Hiring & Onboarding: Participate in the recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and retention of engineering talent for your team and the broader organization Additionally works closely with engineering leadership to align current and new staff skillsets with program needs over time

Technical Contribution (Approx. 75% on average):

• Hands-on Development: Actively participate in the software development lifecycle, contributing high-quality, well-tested, and maintainable code to key projects using our tech stack up to and including
  • Proven proficiency in one or more modern programming language such as Python, Java, C#, Go
  • Experience with the development and deployment of software applications to cloud environments such as AWS including the integration with managed services provided by the cloud provider
• Technical Design & Architecture: Contribute to technical design discussions, architectural decisions, and long-term technical strategy
• Code Quality: Participate actively in code reviews, ensuring adherence to coding standards, best practices, and high-quality engineering principles
• Stay Current and Mentor: Keep abreast of modern technologies, tools, and development practices, advocating for improvements where appropriate. Leverage this continuous learning to mentor and provide technical direction to your software team

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience in a formal or informal leadership capacity (e.g., Tech Lead, Team Lead, mentoring junior engineers, project leadership)
• 8+ years of professional software development experience, delivering complex, scalable applications
• Solid experience developing backend services and APIs using at least one common language and framework (e.g., Node.js/Express/NestJS, Python/Django/Flask/FastAPI, Java/Spring Boot/Quarkus, C#/.NET Core, Ruby/Rails, Go/Gin)
• Experience designing and interacting with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) using SQL and familiarity with ORMs/query builders
• Familiarity with core concepts and services of at least one major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Strong understanding of software development principles, data structures, algorithms, and API design (especially REST)
• Experience or familiarity with various database concepts such as relational structure as well as NoSQL structure concepts in tools such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles, data structures, algorithms, and system design
• Experience with modern software development methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Kanban)
• Experience with version control systems such as Git and the associated tooling to for modern software version control
• Experience with CI/CD pipeline development, testing, and deployment of software application to cloud platforms such as AWS
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills
• Strong problem-solving and analytical abilities
• A genuine passion for both technology and people leadership
• Ability to effectively balance management responsibilities with individual technical contributions

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience directly managing software engineers, including performance management cycles
• Experience working in a modern software company with experience in the execution of government development programs
• Experience contributing to architectural decisions

Pay Range: $150,000 - $190,000

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

The application window will close in 280 days for this position.

Location: Aurora, CO

Being situated at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Aurora provides opportunities to enjoy all the beautiful nature that Colorado has to offer, while also being a 20-minute drive from downtown Denver and 15-minutes to the Denver International Airport.

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 25lbs. 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 an 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.

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