Manager of Software Development with Security Clearance

Overview FTI is looking for an experienced Manager of Software Engineering with expertise and proficiency in software development to join our growing team. This is a hands-on technical leadership role that will be filled near one of our offices in Dayton, OH; Huntsville, AL; Colorado Springs, CO; Chesapeake, VA; or Beverly, MA. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. FTI provides mission-tailored, technology-enabled services and solutions that enhance the ability of the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and the Federal Government to make the best decisions possible in support of national interests. Furthermore, FTI supports those who safeguard our nation with advanced technology, services and expertise while building upon our values to make a positive impact on our customers, each other, and our communities. Lastly, our culture is built around our 4Cs: Core Values (Ethics, Morals, Integrity, Honesty, Sincerity), Commitment, Compassion, and Charity. Responsibilities

• Manage a team of software engineers across the full lifecycle of software development, from planning through deployment.
• Contribute directly to software design, development, testing, and implementation activities.
• Ensure adherence to engineering best practices including coding standards, version control, code reviews, and documentation.
• Support the adoption of modern tools, frameworks, and development methodologies that strengthen the team's technical capabilities.
• Work closely with product management, design, operations, and other internal teams to identify and prioritize features and enhancements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues to maintain stability, performance, and reliability across applications.
• Present project progress, roadblocks, and solutions to senior leadership and key stakeholders.Identify and integrate tools and technologies that improve team efficiency and customer delivery.
• Partner with internal customers and operations to strengthen transparency, collaboration, and customer intimacy.
• Maintain a working understanding of FTI's technology offerings and identify opportunities to support current and emerging customer needs. Leadership Responsibilities:
• Effective Leadership
• Clearly articulates the team's vision and strategy, makes informed and timely decisions, addresses and resolves conflicts within the team promptly and fairly, and empowers team members by delegating responsibilities and encouraging autonomy.
• Employee Intimacy
• Develops and maintains strong, trusting relationships with team members by taking the time to understand each team member's interests, motivations, strengths, and areas for improvement.
• Coaching Through Change
• Demonstrates adaptability and a positive attitude toward change, clearly communicating and setting a tone for the team. Recognizes and addresses the emotional impact of change on team members through resources and training that help team members adapt to new processes, technologies, or organizational changes.
• Intentional Mentoring
• Proactively identifies and provides opportunities for team members' professional and personal growth by establishing specific mentoring goals and creating a plan to achieve them.
• Managing, Tracking, and Measuring Performance for Accountability Establishes SMART goals ensuring each member understands their individual responsibilities and how these goals align with and impact company objectives. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings to maintain open lines of communication and to assess progress, provide feedback, coaching and address any issues.
• Ensures timely and accurate approval of time sheets to comply with company policies and payroll deadlines by verifying the accuracy of reported hours and addressing discrepancies promptly. Education/Qualifications
• Required:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or related field.
• Five-plus years of hands-on software engineering experience.
• Two-plus years in a leadership or managerial role.
• Proficiency in modern programming languages such as Java, Python, C , or TypeScript/Angular.
• Experience building containerized, cloud-native services using tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines (GitLab, Jenkins, or similar).
• Strong knowledge of Agile, Scrum, and DevOps practices.
• Experience with distributed systems or message bus technologies (Kafka, Redis, or equivalent).
• Hands-on experience with relational or NoSQL databases and modeling complex data relationships.
• Experience deploying or supporting applications in secure or disconnected environments (IL4 through IL6 or comparable edge conditions).
• Fluency with modern data serialization formats such as JSON, Protobuf, GeoJSON, or KML.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to design and implement robust software solutions.
• Strong communication skills and comfort presenting to customers.
• Ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams and with external partners.
• Knowledge of FAR and related federal policies.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and have an active Secret Clearance.
• Preferred:
• Experience with ML frameworks or toolchains such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, Hugging Face, LangChain, or the OpenAI API.
• Familiarity with MLOps platforms including MLflow, Kubeflow, DVC, or custom training and inference pipelines.
• Working knowledge of vector databases such as Milvus, Pinecone, Chroma, or FAISS.
• Experience with retrieval architectures including RAG, graph-based, or hybrid search approaches.
• Ability to build Python-based data ingestion scripts, embeddings pipelines, or lightweight inference services.
• Exposure to LLM fine-tuning methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, or PEFT.
• Experience with agent frameworks such as LangGraph, AutoGen, CrewAI, or DSPy.
• Familiarity with cloud GPU environments or edge inference optimization.
• Experience integrating AI services into applications using REST APIs, event triggers, or UI copilots.