Lead Mission Engineer - Full Stack (TL3)
STR · San Diego, CA
$175,000–$240,000from the description
Jul 22, 2026
San Diego, CA
Jul 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A full-stack engineering role focused on building and deploying software for national security missions within the Department of Defense. Day-to-day work spans prototyping new capabilities, developing frontend interfaces in React/TypeScript, integrating systems across cross-functional teams, and traveling to secure sites for deployment and field testing. Best suited to cleared engineers with DoD software experience and strong customer-facing skills.
Senior level · 7+ years · San Diego, CA · Secret clearance · Full-time
Posted 3 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
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 $166,860 (middle half $131,418–$198,246). 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 role is listed with multiple possible locations (San Diego CA, Denver CO, Arlington VA, Boston MA) or willingness to relocate; San Diego is listed first. The CBSA reflects San Diego as the primary listed location, but the role genuinely spans multiple metros.
The clearance gate is 'Active Secret Security Clearance with the ability to obtain Top Secret level with SCI Eligibility' — Secret is the hard gate today; TS/SCI eligibility is a stated requirement but not yet held, so Secret is the operative clearance level.
The BS in Computer Science 'or related technical field' is explicitly waivable by equivalent experience, so no minimum degree is flagged as hard-required.
API integration is called out in the requirements section but names no specific technology beyond REST-style integration; captured as REST.
An Advanced Degree in CS/IT and prior US Military Service with joint planning experience appear under the 'Even Better' section and are treated as preferred, not required.
The role title 'Mission Engineer (Full Stack)' carries no seniority level word; advertised seniority is Unspecified. However, 7+ years of experience, customer leadership, and team leadership duties support a Senior classification.
Requires a 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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