Sr. Software Systems Engineer - China Lake
JT4, LLC · Lancaster, CA
$131,602–$146,602from the description
Jul 7, 2026
Lancaster, CA
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior-level engineering role focused on designing, coding, and maintaining software systems that support live-virtual-constructive simulation and aircraft avionics at a U.S. military test range. Day-to-day work spans system architecture, requirements capture, design reviews, and leading technical staff, with hands-on programming in C++, C, and Python. Suits an experienced engineer holding or eligible for a DoD Top Secret clearance, based on-site at China Lake.
Senior level · 8+ years · Ridgecrest, CA · Bachelor's required · Top Secret clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $120,196 (middle half $96,823–$131,612). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (10)
The posting titles this role 'Senior Software Systems Engineer IV', indicating a leveled senior IC position with project management and staff guidance responsibilities — not a pure people-manager role, so Software Developers (15-1252) is preferred over 11-3021; alternative occupation 15-1299 is noted because the systems engineering / avionics integration scope is broader than typical software development.
The JD states 'An ideal candidate will have an active secret clearance' but separately hard-gates on the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Top Secret clearance ('Individual must be capable of obtaining and maintaining a DOD Top Secret clearance'). The clearance requirement is set to TopSecret based on the hard gate; the active Secret mention is aspirational framing.
The minimum experience requirement is 8 years with a Bachelor's degree; 6 years with a Master's; 4 years with a PhD. The 8-year floor (Bachelor's path) is used as the overall years minimum per the minimum-of-range rule.
Degree requirement is set to Bachelor's — the JD requires one of three degree paths, all of which include a degree; equivalent experience is not offered as a substitute.
MIL-STD-1153 appears to be a typo in the posting for MIL-STD-1553 (the standard avionics data bus); MIL-STD-1773 is the fiber-optic variant. Both are listed in the Range Requirements section as familiarity items alongside live-virtual-constructive simulation. They are captured as a single skill with the alternative, reflecting the JD's pairing of the two standards.
Live-virtual-constructive (LVC) simulation domain knowledge is listed under Range Requirements as 'familiarity with' alongside the MIL-STD standards — it is a domain context item rather than a named technology tool and is not emitted as a standalone skill.
Red Hat Linux and time-series analysis appear under Range Requirements with 'familiarity with' / 'a plus' language, marking them as preferred rather than hard gates.
The position is explicitly not eligible for telework and is located at China Lake (Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake), which falls in the Ridgecrest, CA CBSA.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): time-series analysis.
Requires a Top Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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