About The Role:
Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT), a leading defense technology company, is seeking a Software Engineering Lead to be part of our Advanced Capabilities team and based out of our Arlington, VA location.
We are seeking an experienced Engineering Lead to lead the strategy, execution, and productization of our Advanced Capabilities Product offerings. The selected individual will be responsible for owning the roadmap, prioritizing features, productizing for deployment, and collaborating across engineering, business areas, business development, and external clients to ensure the successful delivery of scalable and maintainable software solutions to the fleet.
Clearance & Location Requirements:
• All applicants must currently possess an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
• This is a fully on-site position, based out of our Arlington, VA location.
Key Responsibilities
What You Will Do:
• Engineer and Architect Solutions: Design and develop high-fidelity prototypes to guide architectural decisions and evaluate solutions against business and operational goals. Architect end-to-end systems that balance project constraints with enterprise objectives, selecting languages, frameworks, and data structures to optimize performance and scalability. Apply advanced algorithms and design patterns to solve complex problems while adapting frameworks to maximize value and efficiency.
• Test and Assure Quality: Design and implement comprehensive test strategies—including unit, integration, and performance testing—to ensure full system coverage. Lead complex incident investigations and coordinate cross-team issue resolution. Enhance monitoring, alerting, and diagnostic tools to improve detection and response, while proactively addressing systemic defects and guiding architectural improvements to ensure long-term software stability in deployed environments.
• Manage Risk and Drive Improvement: Identify and mitigate systemic issues through long-term engineering solutions embedded within the development lifecycle. Lead large-scale modernization initiatives to re-engineer legacy systems and improve maintainability. Establish risk management frameworks, forecast emerging technical and security risks, and champion mitigation strategies to ensure resilience. Integrate secure development practices and threat modeling into architectural decisions to proactively address vulnerabilities.
• Lead and Develop People: Coach and mentor team members to meet both individual career goals and IDT’s organizational objectives. Build inclusive, high-performing teams that embody IDT values and promote a positive, collaborative culture. Delegate work strategically, empower continuous learning, and model ethical leadership, trust, and resilience across all interactions.
Skills, Knowledge & Expertise
Who You Are (Required):
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, cybersecurity, or related field (or equivalent full-time professional experience)
• Minimum of 7+ years’ experience in software development
• Ability to travel approximately 10%
• Highly adept at understanding and presenting complex software solutions
• Extensive experience developing software in various languages, including C, C++, Java, JavaScript, and Python.
• Abundant experience with System and Software architectures
• Familiarity with and hands on experience with software design patterns
• Experience designing software with UML primitives: sequence diagrams, class diagrams, and activity diagrams
• Requirements elicitation, management, tracking, and auditing
• Documentation, training, and deployment experience with tactical software
• Ability to work on-site in Arlington, VA facility and travel to customer sites
• Familiarity deploying containers to Docker utilizing Kubernetes based orchestration platform(s)
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; Adept at presenting technical information to internal and external stakeholders
• Project management skills to include cost, schedule, as well as technical performance estimating and measurement
What Makes You Stand Out:
• Master's degree in Engineering or another technical field
• Familiarity with foundational networking concepts such as routing, switching, identity services, intrusion detection, and firewall
• Familiarity deploying virtual machines in VMWare vSphere environments including networking configuration
• General familiarity with Risk Management Framework (RMF), Authority to Operate (ATO) operations and experience developing solutions that adhere to cyber policy
• Familiarity designing within complex software development environments including submodules, remote dependencies, and mixed-code deployments
• Experience in technical writing, including proposal and white paper authoring
If you see yourself reflected in this role and are excited about the impact you could make, we encourage you to apply! If you know someone who may be a great fit, please feel free to share this opportunity with your network.
Pay Range*: $135,000 - $231,000 or $164,000 - $273,000
This amount may not be reflective of actual compensation that may be earned as pay is dependent on a candidate’s experience, skills, and education. The posted range does not include bonuses, commissions, tips, or other benefits. IDT is often looking to place multiple candidates at various levels. Therefore, more than one pay range has been included, commensurate with experience.
Job Benefits
Why Work at Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT):
IDT is a growing company with a vibrant, entrepreneurial culture. We are headquartered in Arlington, VA with additional offices in Fall River, MA; Mount Laurel, NJ; and San Diego, CA. At each location, our employees work together in a modern, snack-filled, and social office space, designing innovative solutions for our defense industry customers. We offer employees competitive pay and benefits including:
• Generous benefits package
• Competitive PTO
• Paid holidays
• 401(k) with immediate vesting and matching
• 9/80 optional schedule (2nd and 4th Friday off every month)
• Tuition Assistance Reimbursement Program
• Professional Development Resources
• Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits
• Organization-Wide Monthly Tech Connect Events
• Annual Employee Recognition Awards
• Regular Social Events and Catered Lunches
EEO Statement:
IDT is an Equal Opportunity employer.