What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead position at Bluestaq?
About Bluestaq
At Bluestaq, we build secure data platforms that matter for space missions, national defense, healthcare systems, and commercial innovation. Founded in 2018, we've become a leader in enterprise software and secure data management by staying focused on what counts: modern architecture, operational excellence, and mission impact.
We're engineers, problem-solvers, and builders who take the mission seriously, but not ourselves. We automate the repeatable, question the status quo, and design systems that are as reliable as they are scalable. Whether we're supporting space, defense systems, or healthcare advancements, we build with the same principles: cloud-native solutions, security by design, and relentless simplicity.
Our name? "Blue" (military shorthand for the good guys) and "staq" (as in software stack). It's who we are, mission-aligned technologists building platforms that protect the world’s most valuable data.
Recognized Excellence We've earned national recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's Fastest-Growing Private Companies and consistently rank among Colorado's Best Workplaces. But what we're most proud of? The systems we build, the teams we develop, and the mission outcomes we enable.
Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead
We are seeking a technically skilled and people-centered Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead to guide a small team of engineers building secure, scalable solutions for government and commercial missions. In this pivotal role, you’ll combine deep technical contributions with direct team supervision, ensuring that delivery stays on track, systems meet quality and security standards, and engineers are supported in their growth.
As a first-line leader, you will coach, mentor, and develop team members while also serving as the technical point of contact within your domain. You’ll work closely with Product, Program, and Engineering stakeholders to align execution with broader strategic goals. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys empowering others to do their best work and is comfortable stepping in to unblock complex technical challenges when needed.
Why This Role Matters
Team Leads are the connective tissue between execution and leadership. Your work directly impacts how well engineering teams deliver, how quickly they adapt, and how confidently they scale. By combining day-to-day technical leadership with people development, you’ll help ensure our systems are built to last and our engineers are equipped to grow.
If you're driven by technical excellence, passionate about building high-performing teams, and ready to lead from the front, this is your opportunity to play a key role in advancing national security and commercial innovation.
Key Responsibilities
People Leadership
Relocation: This position does not offer relocation. Candidates must live in the immediate area or relocate at their own expense.
Why Join Us?
Salary Range (CO): $110,000 USD - $160,000 USD
Clearance Requirement: This position may require the ability to obtain a TS/SCI Clearance. To be eligible for a security clearance, U.S. citizenship is required, and an employee must agree to participate in a background screen and credit check. Eligibility for a TS/SCI Clearance will be assessed as part of the onboarding process or based on programmatic needs.
Physical Requirements:
Bluestaq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees on the basis age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by state or local law.
Bluestaq will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities and employees whose work requirements interfere with a religious belief unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to Bluestaq or a direct threat. Employees needing such accommodation are instructed to contact Human Resources immediately at contact.us@bluestaq.com.
Date the Position Closes: Applications will be accepted for 60 days beyond the posting date, or until the position is filled, whichever comes first.
At Bluestaq, we build secure data platforms that matter for space missions, national defense, healthcare systems, and commercial innovation. Founded in 2018, we've become a leader in enterprise software and secure data management by staying focused on what counts: modern architecture, operational excellence, and mission impact.
We're engineers, problem-solvers, and builders who take the mission seriously, but not ourselves. We automate the repeatable, question the status quo, and design systems that are as reliable as they are scalable. Whether we're supporting space, defense systems, or healthcare advancements, we build with the same principles: cloud-native solutions, security by design, and relentless simplicity.
Our name? "Blue" (military shorthand for the good guys) and "staq" (as in software stack). It's who we are, mission-aligned technologists building platforms that protect the world’s most valuable data.
Recognized Excellence We've earned national recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's Fastest-Growing Private Companies and consistently rank among Colorado's Best Workplaces. But what we're most proud of? The systems we build, the teams we develop, and the mission outcomes we enable.
Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead
We are seeking a technically skilled and people-centered Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead to guide a small team of engineers building secure, scalable solutions for government and commercial missions. In this pivotal role, you’ll combine deep technical contributions with direct team supervision, ensuring that delivery stays on track, systems meet quality and security standards, and engineers are supported in their growth.
As a first-line leader, you will coach, mentor, and develop team members while also serving as the technical point of contact within your domain. You’ll work closely with Product, Program, and Engineering stakeholders to align execution with broader strategic goals. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys empowering others to do their best work and is comfortable stepping in to unblock complex technical challenges when needed.
Why This Role Matters
Team Leads are the connective tissue between execution and leadership. Your work directly impacts how well engineering teams deliver, how quickly they adapt, and how confidently they scale. By combining day-to-day technical leadership with people development, you’ll help ensure our systems are built to last and our engineers are equipped to grow.
If you're driven by technical excellence, passionate about building high-performing teams, and ready to lead from the front, this is your opportunity to play a key role in advancing national security and commercial innovation.
Key Responsibilities
People Leadership
- Directly supervise engineers on your team; conduct performance check-ins, feedback, and development planning.
- Uphold Bluestaq’s core values of trust, ownership, curiosity, teamwork, mentorship, and talent development, fostering a culture where team members take initiative, support one another, and grow together.
- Mentor engineers in both technical execution and professional development.
- Create psychological safety. Foster an environment where engineers feel safe to ask questions, raise concerns, surface problems early, and challenge ideas constructively. Teams that feel safe move faster and produce better outcomes.
- Navigate difficult conversations with empathy and directness. Whether it's performance feedback, conflict resolution, or organizational change, communicate hard things honestly while maintaining trust and respect.
- Identify and escalate growth needs, performance concerns, or resourcing issues to the Engineering Manager.
- Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and retention of high-performing engineering talent.
- Guide a small team of software engineers in designing and building secure, scalable software systems for government and commercial applications.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership across the team, including code contributions where appropriate.
- Ensure consistent application of modern software development practices, including CI/CD, code reviews, testing, and documentation.
- Support resolution of complex technical challenges, stepping in directly when needed to unblock progress.
- Promote code quality, maintainability, and secure development practices throughout the sprint cycle.
- Guide your team through complex implementations and align technical work with architecture standards and security requirements.
- Partner with architects and senior engineers to support scalability, performance, and maintainability across systems.
- Collaborate with engineering leadership to evaluate and implement appropriate tools, languages, and frameworks aligned with mission and program needs.
- Stay current with relevant technologies and introduce improvements in tooling, languages, and frameworks where they meaningfully improve outcomes.
- Partner closely with product owners, product managers, or engineering managers to plan sprints, define scope, clarify requirements, and prioritize backlog items.
- Own the day-to-day execution of delivery: assign tasks, track progress, and proactively remove blockers.
- Ensure that sprint commitments are met with both technical rigor and high-quality standards.
- Ensure systems and codebases meet architectural guardrails and security requirements.
- Escalate risks, delivery challenges, or resource constraints to Product, Program, and Engineering Management with clarity and urgency.
- Serve as the key point of contact for your team across product, program, and architectural stakeholders.
- Contribute to technical feasibility analysis, scope planning, and integration conversations.
- Participate in broader engineering planning, capability discussions, and system architecture reviews.
- Collaborate with other Team Leads and Engineering Managers to improve engineering process maturity and cross-team alignment.
- Drive adoption of tools, frameworks, and practices that improve engineering productivity and system reliability.
- Advocate for sustainable investments in tech debt, refactoring, and system reliability.
- Contribute to building a culture of technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
- High-performing, engaged engineering team delivering secure, scalable software solutions.
- Systems and codebases that meet architectural guardrails, security requirements, and mission needs.
- Rapid onboarding, development, and retention of engineering talent.
- Technical solutions that scale reliably and are delivered with clarity, predictability, and confidence.
- Proven experience guiding engineering teams technically, including hands-on software development expertise.
- Prior experience supervising, mentoring, or coaching team members.
- Skilled in managing agile workflows, sprint planning, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguity with composure.
- Effective communicator with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to balance short-term delivery needs with long-term sustainability and technical quality.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field and 4 years of engineering or related experience, OR
- Associate degree in a related field and 6 years of engineering or related experience, OR
- High School Diploma/GED and 8 years of engineering or related experience.
- Tech Talent Hotspot - Ranked #2 up-and-coming tech market in North America by CBRE (2024).
- Top Place to Live - Named #3 Best Place to Live in the U.S. and Most Desirable City overall by U.S. News (2024-25).
- Neighborly Spirit - Recognized as America's Most Neighborly City (2024) for community engagement and quality of life.
- Active Lifestyle Hub - Top 5 for hiking and fitness, blending outdoor recreation and wellness (2022).
- Pet-Friendly Leader - Ranked #1 Most Pet-Friendly City in the U.S. (2023) for furry, scaly, and feathery friends.
- Women's Workforce Haven - Ranked #6 Best City for Women in the Workforce by Checkr (2025), highlighting earning potential and female leadership opportunities.
Relocation: This position does not offer relocation. Candidates must live in the immediate area or relocate at their own expense.
Why Join Us?
- Purpose-Driven Work: Support systems that power industries and critical operations, including healthcare and defense.
- Continuous Growth: Expand your technical expertise with hands-on projects and mentorship.
- Dynamic Environment: Be part of a team that thrives on problem-solving, learning, and collaboration.
Salary Range (CO): $110,000 USD - $160,000 USD
Clearance Requirement: This position may require the ability to obtain a TS/SCI Clearance. To be eligible for a security clearance, U.S. citizenship is required, and an employee must agree to participate in a background screen and credit check. Eligibility for a TS/SCI Clearance will be assessed as part of the onboarding process or based on programmatic needs.
Physical Requirements:
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
- Must be able to access and navigate each department at the organization's facilities.
Bluestaq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees on the basis age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by state or local law.
Bluestaq will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities and employees whose work requirements interfere with a religious belief unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to Bluestaq or a direct threat. Employees needing such accommodation are instructed to contact Human Resources immediately at contact.us@bluestaq.com.
Date the Position Closes: Applications will be accepted for 60 days beyond the posting date, or until the position is filled, whichever comes first.
Salary : $110,000