This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S. Who we are:
Raft ( teamraft.com ) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional defense tech company dedicated to empowering U.S. military and government agencies with cutting-edge AI/ML and data solutions. We are a leader in autonomous data fusion and Agentic AI, with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development. With headquarters in McLean, VA, our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.
We’re looking for an experienced Staff Engineer to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers.
About the role:
As a Staff Engineer , you are a beacon of knowledge and a go-to person for complex challenges. Your role is pivotal in decision-making processes, high-level architecture designs, and setting the course for technical excellence within teams. You're expected to think critically, solve intricate problems, and mentor Senior and below Engineers.
Raft is building a real-time data platform for the Department of Defense (DoD), aimed at enhancing operators' awareness of critical events, including instances like the Chinese balloon and Cessna over the White House incidents. Central to this data platform is the aggregation of real-time data from over 750 sensors. This data is subsequently enriched, rendered queryable, and ultimately presented as a common operational picture to empower operators in making time critical and pertinent decisions. Our system efficiently handles the processing of over a billion events daily, all achieved with millisecond-level latency. Key technologies include Kafka, Kafka Streams, Pinot, Java, Scala, and Kubernetes. Your involvement in this role will encompass hands-on collaboration with a team of accomplished individuals, collectively striving towards excellence.
Build data infrastructure and platforms using streaming frameworks such as Apache Kafka, Flink, and Kafka Streams
Build Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) pipelines to enable comprehensive data operations
Leverage software engineering principles to architect, develop, and implement large scale streaming applications
What we are looking for:
Five plus years of relevant hands-on industry experience
In-depth experience with building and managing fault-tolerant, data-intensive platforms using popular streaming technologies such as Kafka, Pinot, or Flink
Experience with large-scale relational and non-relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch to handle low-latency requirements
Working experience in data management including ETL processing, data governance, and data storage
Experience with building and releasing software in cloud-native environments
Experience using a variety of package managers/dependency managers including Maven, Gradle, and NPM
Deep knowledge of software design and architecture patterns
Obtain Security+ certification within the first 90 days of employment with Raft
Highly preferred:
Experience with Kubernetes
Experience with monitoring (i.e. Prometheus, Grafana) and logging (i.e. Fluentbit, Kibana, Loki) solutions in cloud-native environments
Solid understanding of Helm Charts
Experience or knowledge of service mesh technologies, such as Istio
Experience with supporting enterprise Cloud applications or infrastructure
Experience in automation languages like Python or GoLang
Tech Lead Experience
Clearance Requirements:
Minimum Secret Clearance required
Work Type:
Remote with occasional onsite presence as required.
May require up to 25% travel
Salary Range : $160,000 - $210,000
The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities
What we will offer you:
Highly competitive salary
Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
401(k) and company match
Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
Education & training benefits
Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs
Team off-site in fun places!
Generous Referral Bonuses
And More!
Our Vision Statement:
We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.
Our Customer Obsession:
We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.
How do we get there?
Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.
Raft’s core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are . We support our “nadi” by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration. We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
Requirements
Must-haves
This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S. Who we are:
We’re looking for an experienced Staff Engineer to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers.
Build data infrastructure and platforms using streaming frameworks such as Apache Kafka, Flink, and Kafka Streams
Build Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) pipelines to enable comprehensive data operations
Leverage software engineering principles to architect, develop, and implement large scale streaming applications
Five plus years of relevant hands-on industry experience
In-depth experience with building and managing fault-tolerant, data-intensive platforms using popular streaming technologies such as Kafka, Pinot, or Flink
Experience with large-scale relational and non-relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch to handle low-latency requirements
Working experience in data management including ETL processing, data governance, and data storage
Experience with building and releasing software in cloud-native environments
Experience using a variety of package managers/dependency managers including Maven, Gradle, and NPM
Deep knowledge of software design and architecture patterns
Obtain Security+ certification within the first 90 days of employment with Raft
Experience with Kubernetes
Experience with monitoring (i.e. Prometheus, Grafana) and logging (i.e. Fluentbit, Kibana, Loki) solutions in cloud-native environments
Solid understanding of Helm Charts
Experience or knowledge of service mesh technologies, such as Istio
Experience with supporting enterprise Cloud applications or infrastructure
Experience in automation languages like Python or GoLang
Tech Lead Experience
Minimum Secret Clearance required
Remote with occasional onsite presence as required.
May require up to 25% travel
The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities
Nice-to-haves
None flagged.
Application prep
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