Software Engineer
Vadum Inc · Raleigh, NC
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Jul 20, 2026
Raleigh, NC
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software engineering role at a defense-focused R&D firm, centered on designing and building software prototypes and applications that tackle complex technical problems for government customers. The work spans the full research-and-development lifecycle, with an emphasis on applying machine learning concepts, working across multidisciplinary teams, and maintaining and documenting mission-critical systems. Suits an experienced engineer comfortable with ambiguity and emerging technologies.
Senior level · 5+ years · Durham-Chapel Hill, NC · Bachelor's required · Secret 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 $138,602 (middle half $131,111–$172,430).
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 job title is a bare 'Software Engineer' with no level modifier, so advertised seniority is Unspecified; however, the 5-year experience requirement and expectation of technical leadership and peer guidance support a Senior classification.
The clearance requirement states 'Government security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain clearance.' The specific level is not named; given Vadum's defense R&D focus, Secret is the most likely minimum — this should be confirmed with the hiring team.
The programming languages (Java, C/C++, Python/TensorFlow/Scikit-Learn, MATLAB, ML frameworks) are listed together in the required section. Java, C++, Python, TensorFlow/Scikit-Learn, and MATLAB are all marked as required per their placement; the posting implies broad familiarity across these rather than deep expertise in every one simultaneously.
Kafka, Spark, and Hadoop are explicitly called out as 'a plus,' so they are marked preferred.
Functional Programming concepts are also listed as 'a plus' but name no specific tool or language, so they are omitted per the no-generic-concepts rule.
No compensation figures are provided in the posting.
Vadum is headquartered in Raleigh, NC (919 area code); the Durham-Chapel Hill CBSA is the closest standard metro — the Raleigh CBSA (39580) may also be appropriate and should be verified.
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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