[Hiring] Software Engineer IV @Kentro

Role Description

Kentro is hiring a Software Engineer IV to serve as principal software engineer and technical authority on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Accelerated Transformation of Legacy Applications and Systems (ATLAS) program — one of the largest civilian IT modernization efforts in the federal government. The ideal candidate will have experience acting as a technical authority for complex system development and modernization initiatives across a large portfolio.

• Serve as principal engineering authority for implementation of complex system development, re-architecture, and modernization initiatives across assigned portfolio segments.
• Own end-to-end engineering realization of approved architectures for high-complexity systems, including application design, data access, integration implementation, performance, resilience, and security controls.
• Resolve engineering implementation challenges that block delivery and elevate material architecture decisions through the program architecture governance process.
• Conduct deep technical assessments of legacy applications and databases and provide engineering feasibility, complexity, and migration inputs to portfolio rationalization and disposition decisions.
• Lead cross-functional technical teams spanning development, data engineering, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and test.
• Provide technical mentorship, design review, and code review to engineers at all levels.
• Translate program objectives into executable technical roadmaps and translate technical risk into terms program leadership and the government customer can act on.
• Represent engineering implementation concerns in technical exchanges and support architecture review boards and design authority forums with FAA stakeholders.
• Define and maintain engineering implementation standards: reference implementations, coding standards, framework conventions, API and integration implementation patterns, test strategy, and code-quality criteria.
• Establish and mature DevSecOps practice as repeatable enterprise capability rather than per-project effort.
• Build reusable assets, accelerators, and playbooks that make a modernization factory model work at portfolio scale.
• Ensure designs satisfy federal security and compliance obligations, including FISMA, NIST SP 800-53, and applicable FAA and DOT policy.
• Evaluate emerging technologies for engineering feasibility, operational impact, and modernization value; provide adoption recommendations to architecture and program leadership.
• Prototype and pilot new approaches, then productize what proves out into standard practice across the portfolio.
• Drive measurable improvement in delivery velocity, system availability, operating cost, and technical debt reduction.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline.
• 8–10 years of progressive software engineering experience, including demonstrated technical leadership on large, complex systems.
• Expert-level proficiency in one or more major development stacks, server-side or front-end (e.g., Java/Spring, .NET/C#, Python, Node.js; React, Angular, JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML, CSS).
• Understanding of legacy and modern application architecture (e.g. monolith, n-tier, service oriented, microservice, serverless).
• Deep experience modernizing legacy applications and databases, including monolith decomposition, re-platforming, and data migration on systems carrying significant technical debt.
• Hands-on cloud architecture and engineering experience in a major cloud environment (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Demonstrated ownership of engineering implementation for systems with high-availability, performance, and security requirements.
• Practical DevSecOps experience: CI/CD, infrastructure as code, automated testing, and security integrated into the delivery pipeline.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and to define standards that other teams adopt.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Working proficiency in approved AI-assisted development tools for code analysis, refactoring, test generation, and documentation.

Requirements

• US Citizen.
• Existing FAA suitability determination or transferable federal background investigation strongly preferred.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package including paid time off, healthcare benefits, supplemental benefits, and 401k with employer match.
• Education reimbursement for certifications, degrees, or professional development.
• Activities for team bonding, including virtual and in-person events.
• Commitment to continuous professional development.