Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Software Engineer - Backend (Seattle, WA)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Seattle, Washington, us, 98127
Overview
At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget. Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus. The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science-based, mission-focused solutions to take on complex, real-world threats to our nation and the world. The AI and Data Analytics Division, part of the NSD, combines domain expertise and advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions for data analytics, lifecycle from data acquisition and management to analysis and decision support. Responsibilities
Lead Software Engineer on PNNL\'s Software Engineering and Architectures (SEA) team to architect and lead the development of mission-critical AI systems. Design systems at scale in support of mission objectives and drive technical strategy for national security applications. Take ownership from concept to deployment, mentor staff, collaborate with research scientists and domain experts, and translate research into production-ready systems deployed in secure environments. Architect and build distributed platforms in secure facilities, enforce high-availability microservices, and perform performance testing on enterprise-scale systems. Deploy and optimize software in operational environments, troubleshoot mission-critical applications, and collaborate with system operators and infrastructure teams. Build ultra-high-performance APIs, real-time streaming platforms, and fault-tolerant systems with sub-millisecond latency and high uptime. Lead cross-functional initiatives, influence platform strategy, and mentor engineering teams pushing the boundaries of software architecture. What You'll Architect & Build
Software Platforms: scalable microservices, API gateways for classified environments, service mesh for sensitive traffic. High-Performance Processing Systems: distributed design handling hundreds of sources, real-time streaming, horizontally scalable event-driven architectures. Mission-Critical Infrastructure: container orchestration across security domains, CI/CD for millions of deployments, observability across secure enclaves. Technical Leadership with Impact: mentorship, strategic technical decisions, cross-functional collaboration. Technical Expertise Expected
Programming: Python, C#/.NET, JavaScript/TypeScript; familiarity with Java, C/C++, Rust. Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS/Azure, Kubernetes, Infrastructure as Code; familiarity with GCP, multi-cloud, edge computing. Data & Storage: S3/OpenSearch, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redshift, Delta Lake, vector stores. AI/ML Engineering: agentic AI, LLMs, MLOps, distributed training, model serving at scale, vector databases, graph analytics. Intelligence Systems: data fusion, GEOINT processing, signals analysis, threat correlation. Data Engineering: Spark/Databricks, Kafka/streaming, data lake/mesh, real-time analytics. Specialized Systems: geospatial processing, time-series databases, secure enclaves. Leadership Tools: Agile/SAFe, GitLab Enterprise, advanced CI/CD, security-first DevOps. Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications: PhD with 3 years relevant experience OR MS/MA with 5 years OR BS/BA with 7 years OR AA with 16 years OR HS/GED with 18 years; qualifying software development experience in scientific research or consumer digital product development may be counted. Preferred Qualifications: degree in computer science or software engineering; 7+ years in large-scale, high-performance ETL pipelines and analytics; 7+ years Python or equivalent; strong cloud architecture; certifications; familiarity with ML algorithms and pipeline development; active Federal Q Clearance preferred. Location & Clearance
This position is based in Seattle, WA, and requires on-site presence Monday through Thursday, with Friday as needed by business needs. This role requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. A security clearance background investigation includes review of employment, education, financial, and criminal history, and may involve interviews with references and others to determine trustworthiness and eligibility for access to classified information. Additional Information
All applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Pre-employment drug testing and ongoing testing for security clearance positions are required. See the job posting for the full pay range and details on compensation and benefits; this description includes standard requirements such as background investigations and safety provisions. Equal Employment Opportunity statement and accessibility accommodations are available in the full posting. Note: This refined description preserves core responsibilities and qualifications while removing boilerplate and extraneous non-essential content from the original posting.
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At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget. Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus. The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science-based, mission-focused solutions to take on complex, real-world threats to our nation and the world. The AI and Data Analytics Division, part of the NSD, combines domain expertise and advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions for data analytics, lifecycle from data acquisition and management to analysis and decision support. Responsibilities
Lead Software Engineer on PNNL\'s Software Engineering and Architectures (SEA) team to architect and lead the development of mission-critical AI systems. Design systems at scale in support of mission objectives and drive technical strategy for national security applications. Take ownership from concept to deployment, mentor staff, collaborate with research scientists and domain experts, and translate research into production-ready systems deployed in secure environments. Architect and build distributed platforms in secure facilities, enforce high-availability microservices, and perform performance testing on enterprise-scale systems. Deploy and optimize software in operational environments, troubleshoot mission-critical applications, and collaborate with system operators and infrastructure teams. Build ultra-high-performance APIs, real-time streaming platforms, and fault-tolerant systems with sub-millisecond latency and high uptime. Lead cross-functional initiatives, influence platform strategy, and mentor engineering teams pushing the boundaries of software architecture. What You'll Architect & Build
Software Platforms: scalable microservices, API gateways for classified environments, service mesh for sensitive traffic. High-Performance Processing Systems: distributed design handling hundreds of sources, real-time streaming, horizontally scalable event-driven architectures. Mission-Critical Infrastructure: container orchestration across security domains, CI/CD for millions of deployments, observability across secure enclaves. Technical Leadership with Impact: mentorship, strategic technical decisions, cross-functional collaboration. Technical Expertise Expected
Programming: Python, C#/.NET, JavaScript/TypeScript; familiarity with Java, C/C++, Rust. Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS/Azure, Kubernetes, Infrastructure as Code; familiarity with GCP, multi-cloud, edge computing. Data & Storage: S3/OpenSearch, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redshift, Delta Lake, vector stores. AI/ML Engineering: agentic AI, LLMs, MLOps, distributed training, model serving at scale, vector databases, graph analytics. Intelligence Systems: data fusion, GEOINT processing, signals analysis, threat correlation. Data Engineering: Spark/Databricks, Kafka/streaming, data lake/mesh, real-time analytics. Specialized Systems: geospatial processing, time-series databases, secure enclaves. Leadership Tools: Agile/SAFe, GitLab Enterprise, advanced CI/CD, security-first DevOps. Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications: PhD with 3 years relevant experience OR MS/MA with 5 years OR BS/BA with 7 years OR AA with 16 years OR HS/GED with 18 years; qualifying software development experience in scientific research or consumer digital product development may be counted. Preferred Qualifications: degree in computer science or software engineering; 7+ years in large-scale, high-performance ETL pipelines and analytics; 7+ years Python or equivalent; strong cloud architecture; certifications; familiarity with ML algorithms and pipeline development; active Federal Q Clearance preferred. Location & Clearance
This position is based in Seattle, WA, and requires on-site presence Monday through Thursday, with Friday as needed by business needs. This role requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. A security clearance background investigation includes review of employment, education, financial, and criminal history, and may involve interviews with references and others to determine trustworthiness and eligibility for access to classified information. Additional Information
All applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Pre-employment drug testing and ongoing testing for security clearance positions are required. See the job posting for the full pay range and details on compensation and benefits; this description includes standard requirements such as background investigations and safety provisions. Equal Employment Opportunity statement and accessibility accommodations are available in the full posting. Note: This refined description preserves core responsibilities and qualifications while removing boilerplate and extraneous non-essential content from the original posting.
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