Senior software engineer

About the Team:

STR’s Intelligence Division researches and develops advanced analytics and software solutions to solve challenging problems relevant to national security. Our team specializes in applying cutting-edge machine learning and computer vision in areas such as biometrics, target recognition and autonomous agents to solve national security and intelligence problems. We tackle complex technical challenges under stringent operational constraints by leveraging diverse skill sets from fields such as engineering, computer science, and applied machine learning.

Our projects focus on a wide range of data modalities—including biometric data (e.g., face, body, gait), imagery, geospatial, and radio-frequency data—powered by the latest advances in deep learning and statistical techniques. Our solutions have real-world impact, allowing U.S. Government analysts and operators to extract and enrich intelligence information across the globe. If you’re motivated by making a difference while working in a collaborative and fast-paced environment and have experience with systems integration, robust application development, and messaging pipelines, we’d like to hear from you.

The Role:

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will use your software development expertise to operationalize advanced algorithms for biometric and computer vision applications. You will integrate Python-based machine learning pipelines with complex systems and ensure they are resilient, maintainable, and user-focused.

Collaborating closely with project leads and customers, you will:

• Translate stakeholder requirements into system features and components
• Develop new user-facing features and implement robust backend architectures to support them
• Build, maintain, and test messaging systems, such as real-time data workflows and distributed processing pipelines
• Optimize software for data ingestion, transformation, and intelligent storage/retrieval pipelines
• Maintain and improve workflows for distributed systems, ensuring reliability and performance testing in operational environments
• Participate in cross-program collaboration, adapting to diverse projects and tools.
  
  

Our work involves projects of national significance, and the ability to work on-site in one of our Dayton, OH, Woburn, MA, or Arlington, VA locations (depending on candidate preference) will be required.

What You Will Do:

• Collaborate closely on the development of end-to-end data pipelines, messaging support systems (e.g., using ZeroMQ, ActiveMQ, Kafka), and data access/query interfaces to ensure efficient system operation
• Develop interactive tools and dashboards (e.g., using Python libraries like Panel, Dash, or other user-interface frameworks ReactUI, Kotlin, Unity) to empower stakeholders and end users
• Refactor proof-of-concept research code for modularity, scalability, and production
• Build and manage API interfaces and enable integration between analytic tools and distributed processes
• Maintain robust logging, analytics, and monitoring for performance management across distributed software systems
• Communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure requirements are well-understood and actionable
• Create code for systems operating in memory-constrained or time-sensitive environments.
  
  

Who You Are:

• Ability to obtain and retain a Top Secret (TS) clearance, for which U.S. citizenship is needed by U.S. Government
• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or relevant industry experience
• 3+ years of experience in software development
• 0-5+ years of relevant work experience depending on degree (BS +5, MS +3, or PhD)
• Proficiency in navigating, designing, and contributing to large, complex code bases
• Strong proficiency with the Python programming language
• Strong debugging and testing skills for maintaining resilience and reliability in distributed environments
• Working knowledge of version control systems (e.g., Git) and CI/CD pipelines
  
  

Even Better:

• Experience working specifically on biometric or computer vision systems, including:
  • Multimodal data processing (face, body, gait, etc.)
  • Integration of computer vision algorithms and image processing tools (e.g., Pytorch, OpenCV, ffmpeg)

• Development experience with advanced messaging or real-time processing tools like RabbitMQ, Kafka, or ZeroMQ
• Hands-on expertise with DevOps techniques for integrating and managing distributed applications
• Flexibility to adapt research-grade "proof-of-concept" code to reliable, production-ready systems
• Experience with full-stack development, including:
  • Front-end frameworks for dashboard tools (e.g., Panel, Dash, or equivalent)
  • Backend system design focused on messaging systems (e.g., ZeroMQ, Kafka, or other distributed communication tools)

• Familiarity with tools and systems for:
  • Stream processing and distributed data processing
  • SQL or NoSQL databases and data retrieval systems
    
    

Why Join Us?

At STR, we are passionate about applying state-of-the-art machine learning techniques, biometrics, and computer vision to solve critical problems for the U.S. Government. You’ll work alongside a team of talented engineers and researchers on a wide range of projects, from developing production-grade software to rapidly prototyping novel concepts and features. If you’re motivated by solving complex technical challenges—with the chance to contribute to national security efforts—we think you’ll thrive in our innovative, mission-driven environment.

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $134,000 - $184,000

The salary range listed is based on external market data. Offers are based on factors, such as but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, training, key skills/critical skills, security clearances, and prevailing market and business conditions.

STR is a growing technology company with locations near Boston, MA, Arlington, VA, near Dayton, OH, Melbourne, FL, and Carlsbad, CA. We specialize in advanced research and development for defense, intelligence, and national security in: cyber; next generation sensors, radar, sonar, communications, and electronic warfare; and artificial intelligence algorithms and analytics to make sense of the complexity that is exploding around us.

STR is committed to creating a collaborative learning environment that supports deep technical understanding and recognizes the contributions and achievements of all team members. Our work is challenging, and we go home at night knowing that we pushed the envelope of technology and made the world safer.

STR is not just any company. Our people, culture, and attitude along with their unique set of skills, experiences, and perspectives put us on a trajectory to change the world. We can't do it alone, though - we need fellow trailblazers. If you are one, join our team and help to keep our society safe! Visit us at for more info.

STR is an equal opportunity employer. We are fully dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidate regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the employment process, email us at [email protected] and provide your contact info.

Pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations, positions at STR require employees to obtain national security clearances and satisfy the requirements for compliance with export control and other applicable laws.