What are the responsibilities and job description for the HPC Software Engineer position at Cornerstone Defense?
Company Description Cornerstone Defense LLC is a mission-focused small business supporting U.S. Defense, Intelligence, and Space communities with secure, high-assurance technical solutions. The company specializes in secure cloud architecture, enterprise and network engineering, cybersecurity engineering, and full-stack application development. Its teams deliver advanced capabilities in data analytics, zero-trust security, AI/ML-enabled mission systems, and space and tactical operations, aligned with key government priorities such as Digital Modernization, Cloud Migration, Cyber Resilience, DevSecOps, and Mission Integration. Headquartered in Herndon, VA, Cornerstone Defense supports customer missions nationwide, including in DC, MD, CO, UT, NM, HI, and CA. The organization emphasizes integrity, technical excellence, and long-term partnerships, offering a cleared workforce committed to secure, innovative, and operationally ready solutions that advance mission success.
Role Description This is a full-time, on-site HPC Software Engineer role based in Colorado Springs, CO. The HPC Software Engineer will design, develop, and optimize high-performance computing software for mission-critical systems, focusing on scalable architectures and efficient parallel processing. Day-to-day responsibilities include implementing and profiling algorithms, tuning performance across CPUs, GPUs, and distributed environments, and integrating software with secure cloud and on-premise infrastructures. The role involves collaborating with systems, network, and cybersecurity engineers to ensure resilient, secure, and compliant solutions, as well as troubleshooting complex performance and reliability issues in production environments. The engineer will contribute to technical documentation, support continuous integration and deployment pipelines, and participate in code reviews and design discussions to maintain high engineering standards.
Qualifications
- Strong high-performance computing skills, including parallel programming (e.g., MPI, OpenMP), GPU computing (e.g., CUDA, OpenCL), and performance optimization for large-scale systems.
- Proficiency in modern programming languages commonly used in HPC environments, such as C, C , and Python, with solid software engineering practices (testing, debugging, version control).
- Experience with Linux-based development, shell scripting, and working within distributed and clustered compute environments.
- Understanding of secure architectures and DevSecOps practices, with familiarity in integrating HPC applications into cloud or hybrid infrastructures.
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical field.
- Ability to work on-site in Colorado Springs, CO, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and communicate complex technical concepts clearly.
- Active or obtainable security clearance suitable for U.S. defense or intelligence work is highly beneficial.
- Experience in defense, intelligence, space, or other mission-focused environments, and familiarity with AI/ML workloads on