Software and Systems Development Engineer – Test Framework at Markon
Arlington, VA
$120,000–$200,000from the description
Jul 22, 2026
Arlington, VA
Jul 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software/systems engineering role focused on building and maintaining a distributed test orchestration and asset management platform. Day-to-day work spans feature development across multiple subsystems, defining service APIs, managing physical and virtual lab hardware through device adapters, maintaining databases and CI/CD pipelines, and handling production support. The role suits experienced engineers comfortable with Python or Rust, distributed systems, and Linux environments — and who hold an active TS/SCI with Polygraph.
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
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 (8)
The role is primarily a software developer building a test orchestration platform (Test Framework), not a QA analyst executing tests — hence 15-1252 Software Developers is preferred over 15-1253. However, the platform's purpose is test infrastructure, so 15-1253 is a credible runner-up.
An active TS/SCI with Polygraph is an explicit hard gate stated in the Qualifications section.
Python and Rust are listed together as 'Proficiency in Python or Rust; experience with both is a plus' — Python is captured as the primary with Rust as an alternative; both are required-level proficiency.
'Containerization' is listed under required qualifications with no specific tool named (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes); it is captured as a required skill using the generic canonical term.
GraphDB appears in the responsibilities narrative (not the qualifications section) alongside PostgreSQL and DynamoDB; it is omitted as a named skill because it appears only as stack context rather than a candidate gate. PostgreSQL and DynamoDB appear in the same narrative context and are marked preferred accordingly.
Amazon Pipelines is mentioned in responsibilities but is not a widely recognized standalone product name; GitLab CI/CD is captured as the named required CI tool.
The posting is headquartered in Falls Church, VA (Washington DC metro area); no explicit work location or remote policy is stated, but the physical lab environment and classified/air-gapped context strongly imply on-site work.
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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