Principal Software Engineer
Kelly Services · denver, CO
$130,000–$170,000from the description
Jul 23, 2026
denver, CO
Jul 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A principal-level backend engineering role focused on building and integrating software that supports satellite operations and mission orchestration. Day-to-day work centers on cloud-native microservices, containerized infrastructure, and API development within a distributed systems environment. Suited to a seasoned engineer with deep Kubernetes and Python or Rust experience who is also comfortable guiding other engineers technically.
Senior level · 8+ years · Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“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
Roughly 420 people in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 310–540
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $140,636 (middle half $126,359–$175,118). 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 (5)
The title says 'Principal' but the requirements — 8+ years of experience with no explicit org-wide technical authority or cross-team architectural ownership — are consistent with a Senior engineer. The seniority band is set to Senior accordingly.
Python and Rust are presented as interchangeable ('and/or'), so Rust is captured as an alternative to Python rather than a separate required skill. Both appear in the 'Tech Breakdown' narrative section as well, reinforcing they are the primary languages but not independently gated.
AWS GovCloud and Azure Government are listed together as interchangeable examples of regulated cloud platforms under Desired Skills, so Azure Government is captured as an alternative.
No degree requirement is stated anywhere in the posting.
The posting notes applicants must be authorized to work in the US full-time; no security clearance is explicitly required, though the aerospace/satellite and GovCloud context may imply one could be needed post-hire.
Read the full posting
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