Demo

Principal Engineer, Software

SES Space & Defense
Reston, VA Full Time
POSTED ON 6/25/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/24/2026
SES Space & Defense is a trusted partner ensuring mission success for our customers by blanketing the globe with multi orbit end to end satellite and technology solutions which provide reliable, secure, and high bandwidth connectivity. We strive to be the only solution when success is critical, and we will take care of our employees because we recognize they are our competitive advantage. The SES S&D Team, along with our customers and partners, will achieve success through integrity, honor, and commitment.

Position Summary

The Principal Software Engineer is responsible for shaping the technical direction and ensuring successful delivery of high-quality software solutions that result in remarkable user and customer experiences within a highly collaborative agile software development environment. Collaboration is with the Director of Software Solutions, within the team and with business partners to architect and build innovative solutions driven by thoughtful, scalable technical designs. This is a position for a highly motivated and influential individual that thrives in fast-paced environments that can mentor and raise the technical performance of the team.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Lead the design, development, and deployment of complex solutions in alignment with strategic technical objectives.
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineering teams, fostering a culture of technical excellence and best practices.
  • Drive the adoption and successful execution of the SDLC and Agile methodologies.
  • Resolve technical challenges and roadblocks, ensuring the successful delivery of projects.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders across the organization to align technical solutions with business goals.
  • Implement and enforce company quality and security standards in software development.
  • Participate in cross-functional teams to develop diverse software solutions, including web applications, system integrations, and data solutions.
  • Conduct code reviews and mentor team members to improve quality and development practices.
  • Develop and maintain a deep understanding of multiple development paradigms, design patterns, and cloud-native architectures.
  • Create technical documentation and guides to set engineering best practices.
  • Review internal and partner system specifications and material requirements and create work from them.
  • Consistently find and deliver new ways to develop and improve processes and technology.
  • Interact with company leadership and departmental leads to coordinate and report on technical activities.
  • Support, communicate, reinforce, and defend the mission, values, and culture of the organization.

Required Qualifications

  • US Citizenship with the ability and willingness to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
  • A bachelor’s degree in computer science, or related technical work experience.
  • Minimum 10 years of experience in applications development, design and deployment.
  • Excellent communications skills, both written and verbal with the ability to clearly translate technical concepts to non-technical users.
  • Ability to develop applications in multiple system architectures.
  • Expertise with multiple programming languages which must include modern JavaScript frameworks in Typescript (React, Angular) and Python.
  • Thorough understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) stages.
  • Expertise in SOLID principles and software design patterns.
  • Expertise in data engineering concepts of SQL, ETL, data warehousing and data streaming.
  • Development & Deployment experience with Docker or Kubernetes.
  • Familiarity with cloud-native architectures.
  • Strong knowledge of secure development best practices.

Desired Qualifications

  • 3 or more years of experience developing custom solutions in SaaS platforms like Salesforce, ServiceNow or D365.
  • Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required.

SES Space & Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Salary.com Estimation for Principal Engineer, Software in Reston, VA
$150,803 to $182,678
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