Software Engineer (C++) with Security Clearance

• Company: Northrop Grumman
• Location: Boulder, CO 80301
• Duration: 9 month contract to hire, you will convert perm after 9 months
• Clearance: Secret, will hold Top Secret if you already have it
• Program – BOA Required Skills & Experience
Active Secret Clearance or higher
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or another STEM-related field
T2: 2+ years of software development experience
T3: 4+ years of software development experience
T4: 9+ years of software development experience
Strong C++ development experience
Experience developing software throughout the full software development lifecycle
Python development experience
Experience working within Linux environments
Knowledge of software design principles, debugging, testing, and code reviews
Ability to work onsite in Boulder, CO Nice to Have Skills & Experience Experience with message broker architectures such as ActiveMQ, ZeroMQ, RabbitMQ, Kafka, or similar technologies
Understanding of publish-subscribe (Pub/Sub) architectures and asynchronous messaging concepts
Experience developing applications that interface with message broker technologies
Experience troubleshooting or debugging distributed messaging systems
Exposure to microservices architectures
Containerization experience (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, etc.)
Experience participating in architecture reviews or technical design discussions
Experience mentoring junior engineers or serving as a technical lead
Experience supporting classified aerospace, defense, or government programs
Familiarity with Git, CMake, Conan, Nexus, or similar development tools Job Description An aerospace and defense technology company in Boulder, CO is seeking multiple Software Engineers (T2, T3, and T4 levels) to support the continued development and modernization of mission-critical software systems within a classified environment. This team is responsible for building new capabilities, creating user stories, integrating and merging software baselines, and supporting the long-term evolution of a complex distributed system. On a day-to-day basis, engineers will be involved in full lifecycle software development utilizing C++, Python, and Linux-based environments. The team is actively moving toward a microservices-oriented architecture and will be decoupling portions of the existing software baseline over time. While prior microservices experience is not required, candidates should have strong core software engineering fundamentals and experience developing and maintaining scalable applications. This role offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge defense programs while collaborating closely with cross-functional engineering teams. Senior-level (T4) engineers will have the opportunity to influence technical direction, participate in software architecture discussions, mentor junior engineers, and potentially transition into future technical leadership responsibilities.