Software Engineering Manager, Federal Team
Chantilly, Virginia
Overview
General Atomics pioneers technologies with the potential to change the world. Behind a talented global team of engineers, GA delivers safe, sustainable, and economical solutions to meet growing global demands. Our Engineers have an opportunity to work on first of a kind product lines within an incredible, dynamic environment.
Engineering positions typically require a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience. Candidates from mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering backgrounds must know the fundamentals of engineering system developments, requirements, testing, and integration before getting to the final stages of customer interface and project management.
Schedule: Full-Time Salary
Job Level: Management
Travel: 0 - 25
Success Profile
What makes a successful Software Engineering Manager, Federal Team at General Atomics? Check out the top traits we’re looking for and see if you have the right mix.
- Analytical
- Collaborative
- Inventive
- Problem Solver
- Team Player
- Creative
Job Summary
General Atomics Integrated Intelligence Inc. (GA-I3) develops cutting-edge software solutions that transform raw data into actionable intelligence. We specialize in real-time global situational awareness and battle management, processing petabytes of data from hundreds of sources across air, land, and sea. Our systems—including the widely used THRESHER and DRAGONSPELL platforms—support tens of thousands of users at all levels of the DoD and Intelligence Community and enable critical decision-making for national security missions.
We process hundreds of thousands of observations per minute, operating at the scale of global sensor networks and battlefield telemetry. Our backend architecture leverages technologies like Kafka, AWS, NiFi, and GeoMesa—the latter of which we designed and open-sourced—to deliver high-throughput, mission-resilient systems that turn streaming data into real-time intelligence.
Why GA-I3?
GA-I3 combines the staying power of an experienced defense contractor with the agility and values of a mission-focused technology company. We’ve spent decades building systems our users love—trusted tools used daily by operators and analysts across the national security community. Our customers keep coming back because we deliver what we promise, and our engineers stay because they get to solve real problems that truly matter.
If you're looking for a place where engineering excellence meets enduring mission, GA-I3 is where you belong.
We are seeking a Backend Software Engineering Lead to help build the next generation of global situational awareness and battle orchestration capabilities—while also shaping the future of our technical team. In this role, you’ll not only design and deliver performant, scalable software in collaboration with cross-functional teams—including UI/UX engineers, mission engineers, data scientists, and product owners—but also play a key part in mentoring and developing early-career engineers. You’ll lead by example, foster a culture of continuous learning, and help cultivate the technical excellence and leadership potential of our next generation of talent.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Senior engineers at GA-I3 are technical leaders who drive strategy, architecture, and delivery across complex projects. In this role, you will lead a team dedicated to onboarding and enabling new technical talent, ensuring engineers are equipped with the tools, knowledge, and skills needed to thrive from day one. You'll shape technical onboarding, mentor engineers, and collaborate with stakeholders to create a seamless, effective, and high-impact entry experience for new hires joining the Federal Portfolio.
- Lead development activities
- Lead the successful design, implementation, and delivery of high-impact backend software solutions
- Guide long-term planning efforts and influence technical roadmaps for backend services and system architecture so they align with organizational goals, operational requirements, and product strategy
- Provide technical leadership across the full development lifecycle, including design reviews, coding standards, and testing practices
- Mentor engineers
- Train engineers on the tools, techologies, and skills needed to excel in their career
- Onboard new engineers, helping them build confidence and make early contributions
- Foster a culture of knowledge sharing, collaboration, and curiosity
- Collaborate internally
- Represent the team as a technical point of contact with internal, cross-functional teams and program leadership
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders on technical initiatives that span multiple teams and domains
- Coordinate software deployments and upgrades across distributed environments
- Evaluate and implement cross-platform deployment strategies, ensuring compliance with integration and security standards
- Engineer performant solutions
- Contribute to system-wide performance tuning and reliability improvements, identifying architectural risks and proposing mitigation strategies
Job Qualifications:
- Typically requires education or formal training equivalent to the completion of a Bachelors degree in Software Engineering or related discipline and six or more years progressively complex experience. Additional professional experience may be substituted in lieu of education.
- Expertise in Java and/or other backend languages (e.g., Scala, Go)
- Demonstrated technical leadership in cross-functional engineering efforts
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience working directly with stakeholders
- Interest and experience mentoring junior and mid level engineers
DESIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
- Expertise in backend architecture, distributed systems, and service design
- Experience with performance tuning and high-availability system design
- Familiarity with Kafka, NiFi, GeoMesa, AWS, or other cloud-native technologies
- Experience with deployment technologies (Kubernetes, Helm, Istio, Rancher).
- Ability to interface directly with customers and senior stakeholders
- Experience working in the DoD or Intelligence Community
Salary:$112,320 - $205,058
Benefits
-
Healthcare
-
Pension, 401(k)/Retirement Plans
-
Competitive Pay
-
Multiple product lines means a variety of work
-
Paid Time Off

“The company is growing, has a very good reputation and had open positions in my area of expertise (aircraft design/design methodology development).”– Peter, Senior Staff Engineer

“We don't ascribe to quotas; we do ascribe to securing the BEST talent to enrich our culture toward healthy diversification and active/viable community service. We are STEM advocates.”– Debra, CSSBB: Staff Engineer

“Every day is different, with different problems to solve and many programs to support. I am a problem solver and have always been motivated by the tough questions.”– Scott, Laser Scientist

“I work in the Components Engineering and Obsolescence Management Dept. Our efforts are saving General Atomics several millions of dollars by proactively leading and informing the company of all these decisions which significantly impact production, sustainment and new designs.”– John, Staff Engineer
News
-
Featured Jobs
- Legal Assistant San Diego, California
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware and Circuit Board Design Lead San Diego, California
- Senior Subcontract Administrator Poway, California
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware Description Language (MODEM), and Embedded Software San Diego, California
You have not recently viewed any jobs.
You have no saved jobs.
-
Featured Jobs
- Legal Assistant San Diego, California
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware and Circuit Board Design Lead San Diego, California
- Senior Subcontract Administrator Poway, California
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware Description Language (MODEM), and Embedded Software San Diego, California
You have not recently viewed any jobs.
You have no saved jobs.
-
Featured Jobs
- Legal Assistant San Diego, California
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware and Circuit Board Design Lead San Diego, California
- Senior Subcontract Administrator Poway, California
- Electrical Engineer, Hardware Description Language (MODEM), and Embedded Software San Diego, California
You have not recently viewed any jobs.
You have no saved jobs.