Software Systems Engineer - China Lake
JT4, LLC · Lancaster, CA
$127,358–$142,358from the description
Jul 7, 2026
Lancaster, CA
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A mid-to-senior software engineering role focused on designing, coding, and testing systems that support live-virtual-constructive simulation and aircraft avionics environments at a military test range. Day-to-day work involves C++, C, and Python development, parallel processing, and Git-based collaboration, alongside guiding junior staff and interfacing with customers. An active or obtainable DoD Top Secret clearance is required, and the position is on-site at China Lake.
Senior level · 4+ 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 $178,245 (middle half $140,002–$221,435). 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 (11)
The posting titles this role 'Software Systems Engineer III', which maps to a Senior-level individual contributor; the III suffix is treated as an explicit Senior-level claim.
The clearance situation is layered: the intro states 'an ideal candidate will have an active Secret clearance', but the body requirements state 'must be capable of obtaining and maintaining a DOD Top Secret clearance'. The hard gate is Top Secret (ability to obtain); the active Secret is a strong preference. Clearance is set to TopSecret accordingly.
Degree requirement: the JD offers three paths (Bachelor's + 4 yrs, Master's + 2 yrs, or PhD). Bachelor's is the minimum formal degree path and is set as the degree requirement; however, equivalent experience is NOT explicitly offered as a substitute, so Bachelors is retained.
MIL-STD-1153 appears to be a typo in the posting for the well-known MIL-STD-1553 (aircraft avionics bus standard); MIL-STD-1773 is its fiber-optic variant. Both are listed under the 'Range Requirements' section alongside 'familiarity with', placing them as preferred rather than hard gates. The skill is captured as MIL-STD-1553 with MIL-STD-1773 as an alternative.
Live-virtual-constructive simulation and avionics familiarity appear in the Range Requirements section with 'familiarity with' language, placing them as preferred.
Red Hat Linux and time-series analysis are explicitly called out as 'a plus' or 'familiarity' in the Range Requirements section.
The role blends software development (C++/C/Python coding, design, testing) with systems engineering duties (design reviews, customer interaction, proposal support), making the SOC classification a judgment call between 15-1252 (Software Developers) and 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts). The dominant day-to-day work described — coding, software design, unit/integration testing — points to 15-1252.
This position is explicitly not eligible for telework and is located at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (Ridgecrest, CA CBSA).
US citizenship is required per the federal contract.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): live-virtual-constructive simulation, 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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