Principal Java Engineer (Alexandria)

Principal Java Developer

Compensation : $200,000 $300,000 (Direct Hire)

Locations : San Diego, CA Aurora, CO Annapolis Junction, MD Alexandria, VA (Onsite)

Residency : US Citizens Only

Clearance Required : Active TS / SCI ( CI Poly preferred )

Position Type : Full-Time / Direct Hire

Overview

Our client is seeking a Principal Java Developer to join a high-performing Agile team supporting a mission-critical national security program. This environment utilizes the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), DevOps best practices, CI / CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern collaboration tools to deliver advanced capabilities to an operational system.

This role is deeply focused on Java, J2EE, Spring, Spring Boot, and MVC frameworks , supporting full lifecycle development from requirements analysis through deployment.

Responsibilities

Develop high-quality, maintainable enterprise Java software individually and within Agile teams (SAFe)

Translate complex system requirements into scalable, well-structured solutions

Use design tools, formal specifications, models, and CASE tools to support architecture and design

Apply engineering best practices to ensure code is reliable, modifiable, efficient, and reusable

Engineer, author, optimize, and document automation scripts for dev / test / production

Participate in code reviews, version control, CI / CD pipelines, and documentation practices

Promote code reuse across programs through shared components and libraries

Participate in PI Planning and all Agile ceremonies

Required Qualifications

Active TS / SCI clearance (CI Poly preferred)

Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent experience)

Strong hands-on experience with Java, J2EE, Spring, Spring Boot, and MVC

Experience with one or more of the following :

Python, C / C++, SQL

SOAP, WSDL, WADL

PERL, PowerShell, VBS

Eclipse, Postgres, Oracle, Jenkins

Experience with UI development and XHTML / HTML / XML / XSLT

Experience developing on Windows and / or Linux operating systems

Strong understanding of core software engineering principles

Ability to prioritize tasks, work independently, and communicate clearly

Proven ability to perform in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with application servers : Tomcat, WebLogic, JBoss

Experience with requirements decomposition, secure systems engineering, interface control, and CI / CD

Experience with Agile practices : Pair Programming, BDD, TDD, Refactoring, ATDD

Hands-on experience with automated testing tools : FITNesse, Mockito, Cucumber, UFT, Selenium

Experience with secure software development (Layer 7, policy-driven security, etc.)

Experience with SAFe or SAFe certification