Senior Lead Software Engineer - Network Infrastructure and Automation
Nightwing · Sterling, VA
$122,000–$253,000from the description
Jul 14, 2026
Sterling, VA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior engineering role focused on designing and building software-defined networking systems, network automation frameworks, and infrastructure management platforms for defense and intelligence missions. Day-to-day work spans Python-based automation tooling, containerized microservices, CI/CD pipelines, and integrating AI-driven analytics into network operations. The role also carries a mentorship and technical leadership dimension, guiding teams on infrastructure-as-code and DevSecOps practices. An active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph is required.
Senior level · 5+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · TS/SCI 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
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 $158,337 (middle half $126,441–$180,105). 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 (9)
The role is titled 'Senior Lead Software Engineer' but the requirements (5+ years, team-level scope, mentoring) align with a Senior individual contributor, not a Staff/Principal level. 'Lead' here appears to describe technical leadership within a team rather than org-wide authority.
VMware NSX-T is listed as required with 'or similar SDN platforms'; Cisco ACI, Calico, OVN, and Cilium are named explicitly under Preferred Qualifications as alternatives — they are captured in the alternatives array for NSX-T rather than as separate preferred skills.
Jenkins and GitLab CI are listed together as a single CI/CD requirement; both are captured with one as the primary and the other as an alternative.
Ansible and Terraform are listed together as infrastructure-as-code tools in the same requirement clause; both are emitted as separate required skills since they are distinct tools commonly used together rather than true drop-in substitutes.
The degree requirement states 'Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or equivalent practical experience,' so no formal degree is hard-gated.
An active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph is explicitly required — this is a hard gate.
The very wide salary range ($122K–$253K) reflects the posting's note that compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience level.
The role is onsite at National Business Park, Maryland (Annapolis Junction area), within the Washington DC metro CBSA.
Requires a TS/SCI 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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