Lead, Software Engineer at L3Harris
Colorado Springs, CO
$117,000–$218,000from the description
Jul 14, 2026
Colorado Springs, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A hands-on engineering leadership role focused on developing Electro-Optical software for military systems. The position combines direct technical contribution — including requirements analysis, design, and implementation in languages such as C++ or Python — with people management responsibilities like hiring, mentoring, and performance oversight. Candidates should have a background in DoD software development and experience with earned value management.
Senior level · 9+ years · Colorado Springs, CO · 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
Roughly 2 people in the Colorado Springs, CO area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (computer and information systems managers). range 1–4
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $196,631 (middle half $161,086–$222,978). 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 (7)
The title 'Lead, Software Engineering' carries no standard seniority level word, so the title states no level. The role's scope — people management, hiring, mentoring, cost account management, and proposal work — maps to 11-3021 (Computer and Information Systems Managers), though the JD also emphasizes hands-on coding contributions, making 15-1252 a genuine runner-up.
Clearance: the JD requires only the *ability to obtain* a DoD clearance (not an active one), so no clearance gate is set. An active TS/SCI is listed under Preferred Additional Skills and is not a hard gate.
Security+ is listed in the required qualifications section as something the candidate must be *able to obtain within 60 days*, which is treated as a hard gate on the capability. An active Security+ certification is separately listed as preferred.
The degree requirement accepts equivalent experience in lieu of a degree ('minimum of 13 years of prior related experience'), so the degree requirement is set to None. The minimum experience figure (9 years with a Bachelor's) is used for the overall years minimum.
C++, Java, QNX, and Python are listed together as a single 'expert proficiency in a modern programming language' requirement; C++ is named first and the others are captured as alternatives.
Rust and Go appear under Preferred Additional Skills and are treated as a single interchangeable preferred skill.
DevSecOps tools (CI/CD, containerization, cloud-native) appear under Preferred Additional Skills; each is captured as a preferred skill.
Read the full posting
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