Lead Backend Software Engineer IV (seattle, WA)

Lead Software Engineer

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 NSD, combines profound domain expertise and creative integration of advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions that address complex data and analytic challenges. Working in multidisciplinary teams, we connect foundational research to engineering to operations, providing the tools to innovate quickly and field results faster. Our strengths are integrated across the data analytics lifecycle, from data acquisition and management to analysis and decision support.

Responsibilities

We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer to join PNNL's advanced AI engineering initiatives—spanning agentic AI architectures, petabyte-scale data orchestration, and real-time multi-intelligence processing—that are defining the future of national security technology. With your expertise in scalable system design, AI/ML engineering, and complex data architectures, you'll contribute to revolutionary capabilities that process multi-modal intelligence data at unprecedented scale and speed. We operate with startup agility and urgency, rapidly iterating and deploying solutions where failure isn't an option.

As a Lead Software Engineer on PNNL's Software Engineering and Architectures (SEA) team, you will architect and lead the development of mission-critical AI systems, design systems at scale in support of mission objectives, and drive technical strategy for some of the nation's most sophisticated intelligence and security applications. You'll take ownership from concept to deployment, mentor and develop staff, collaborate with research scientists and domain experts, and translate cutting-edge research into production-ready systems deployed in highly secure environments—all while maintaining the entrepreneurial mindset that turns breakthrough research into operational reality.

What You'll Architect & Build

• Software Platforms – Design scalable microservices architectures that coordinate across multiple domains, build robust API gateways for classified environments, architect service mesh implementations that handle the nation's most sensitive traffic
• High-Performance Processing Systems – Lead distributed system design processing data from hundreds of sources simultaneously, architect real-time streaming platforms that handle terabytes per hour, design event-driven architectures that scale horizontally across data centers
• Mission-Critical Infrastructure – Design container orchestration platforms that span multiple security domains, architect CI/CD pipelines processing millions of deployments, build monitoring and observability systems across secure enclaves
• Technical Leadership with Impact – Mentor engineering teams building systems that push the boundaries of software architecture, drive technical decisions that influence platform strategy, lead cross-functional initiatives spanning multiple development teams

Technical Expertise Expected

• Programming Excellence – Fluency in Python, with proficiency in C#/.Net, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, [Java, C/C++, Rust]
• Cloud & Infrastructure – AWS/Azure architecture, Kubernetes orchestration, Infrastructure as Code, [GCP, Multi-cloud, Edge computing]
• Data & Storage – S3, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redshift, Delta Lake, Vector stores
• AI/ML Engineering – Agentic AI systems, LLMs, model deployment & orchestration, MLOps platforms, 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 architectures, real-time analytics, distributed computing
• Specialized Systems – Geospatial processing frameworks, time-series databases, distributed computing, secure enclaves
• Leadership Tools – Agile/SAFe methodologies, GitLab Enterprise, advanced CI/CD, security-first DevOps

Impact & Growth

• Lead technical strategy for AI-powered national security systems while mentoring the next generation of engineers. Your architectural decisions will influence platforms processing intelligence data at national scale, directly contributing to our nation's security posture.

National Interest Project Examples

• Detect and prevent smuggling of drugs and contraband at ports of entry
• Develop large data pipelines to thwart funding for terrorists, nuclear proliferators, drug cartels, and rogue leaders
• Applying big data solutions to national security problems
• Applying image classification for nuclear forensics analysis
• Develop capabilities for scalable geospatial analytics

This position is based in Seattle, WA, and requires an on-site presence Monday through Thursday, with Friday as required by business needs.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD and 3 years of relevant experience -OR-
• MS/MA or higher and 5 years of relevant experience -OR-
• BS/BA and 7 years of relevant experience -OR-
• AA and 16 years of relevant experience -OR-
• HS/GED and 18 years of relevant experience
• Qualifying software development experience in designing, architecting, programming, deploying, and automating software solutions in support of scientific research or consumer digital product development may be counted

Preferred Qualifications:

• Degree in computer science, software engineering, or related field
• Expert level experience in designing or deploying petabyte size large-scale and high-performance ETL pipelines and analytics
• Fluency in Python and proficiency in at least one other language (C#/.NET, C++, Go)
• Demonstrated experience leading teams of software engineers and translating complex technical problems into clear, structured, and actionable units of work for execution
• Experience mentoring junior staff.
• Strong understanding of software engineering and data management best practices
• Strong experience in cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP) and implementation
• Possession of professional certification in cloud architecture and database certifications
• Familiarity with machine learning algorithms with hands-on experience in machine learning pipeline development
• Experience engaging with funding agencies such as the Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, or National Nuclear Security Administration, and demonstrated ability to initiate substantial new R&D efforts and collaborations
• Possession of an active Federal Q Clearance

Hazardous Working Conditions/Environment

Not Applicable

Additional Information

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. A security clearance background investigation includes review of your employment, education, financial, and criminal history, as well as interviews with you and your personal references, neighbors, and co-workers to determine trustworthiness, reliability, and loyalty to the United States. The investigation also examines your foreign connections, drug and alcohol use, foreign influence, and overall conduct.

Requirements:

• U.S. Citizenship
• Background Investigation: Applicants selected will be subject to a Federal background investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified matter in accordance with 10 CFR 710, Appendix B.
• Drug Testing: All Security Clearance positions are Testing Designated Positions, which means that the applicant selected for hire is subject to pre-employment drug testing, and post-employment random drug testing. In addition, applicants must be able to demonstrate non-use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for the 12 consecutive months preceding completion of the requisite Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP).

Note: Applicants will be considered ineligible for security clearance processing by the U.S. Department of Energy if non-use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for 12 months cannot be demonstrated.

Referral Eligible

This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). The candidate selected for this position will be subject to pre-employment and random drug testing for illegal drugs, including marijuana, consistent with the Controlled Substances Act and the PNNL Workplace Substance Abuse Program.

About PNNL

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a world-class research institution powered by a highly educated, diverse workforce committed to the values of Integrity, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact