Principal Engineer

At Cobalt Streamworks, we build, deploy, and implement innovative products that solve the world’s most complex challenges today. Through unrivaled collaboration and unwavering trust, we push the boundaries of what’s possible to empower our team and support our customers in building a safer global future. Cobalt Streamworks is seeking a Principal Engineer to join a growing defense and intelligence software team. This is a hands-on technical leadership role — you will be an active contributor to the codebase, a day-to-day technical anchor for the team, and a thoughtful mentor who can help evolve a talented group of independent engineers into a cohesive, process-driven team without losing the speed and initiative that got us here. In your first 90 days, you will be embedded as an individual contributor, learning the product, the architecture, the people, and the pace. You will begin assuming direct management responsibility for one engineer as you build trust and context. Our environments are in AWS, with most of our applications running in Docker containers managed with Kubernetes. You are a great fit if you are experienced with Linux, Go, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Postgres. Most of your day to day will be focused on engineering activities, prioritizing quality while delivering impactful features that our customers rely on to conduct business in the national security space. Location : 100% Remote What you will do : Lead from the code • Be a core individual contributor in Go, Python, and JavaScript • Set the technical standard through pull request reviews, architecture decisions, and hands-on pair programming • Identify technical debt and risk clearly, communicate tradeoffs to stakeholders Grow and coach a small Agile team • Build out the agile process including sprint planning, refinement, and process development; help us move out of “startup mode” • Directly manage one engineer • Collaborate in a strong remote team environment, building robust and reliable solutions with a strong value proposition • Support a team that cares about what we build, with a bias for action and willingness to take risks What you will need (basic qualifications) : • Professional proficiency in Go, Python, and JavaScript, developing for a Linux-based cloud environment • Experience building and operating software products in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment • Fluency with modern DevOps, CI/CD, and agile tooling; you know what a healthy engineering system looks like. We use AWS, EKS, Helm, and Flux. • Background in or strong familiarity with NLP, LLMs, agentic tooling, or data-intensive applications is a plus Leadership & Communication • Track record of technical leadership • Strong written and verbal communication: you can write a clear design doc, run a tight standup, and present tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders • Experience with direct line management, mentorship, or tech lead roles on engineering teams • Comfort in ambiguity with a large open problem space faced by our users and no clear, direct solutions or requirements • Genuine interest in making the world a safer place from a national security perspective Clearance Requirement: • Active Top Secret (TS/SCI) clearance preferred, but no clearance is required #LI-JB1 Cobalt Streamworks is committed to providing competitive and comprehensive compensation packages that reflect the value we place on our employees and their contributions. We believe in rewarding skills, experience, and performance. Our offerings include but are not limited to, medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability insurance, retirement benefits, paid leave, tuition assistance and professional development. The projected salary range listed for this position is annualized. This is a general guideline and not a guarantee of salary. Salary is one component of our total compensation package and the specific salary offered is determined by various factors, including, but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills, geographic location, as well as contract specific affordability and organizational requirements. Salary Range $180,000—$200,000 USD Looking for other great opportunities? Check out Cobalt Streamworks Opportunities for all our Company’s current openings! Ready to make the first move towards growing your career? If so, check out the Cobalt Streamworks Candidate Journey! This will give you step-by-step directions on applying, what to expect during the application process, information about our rich benefits and perks along with our most frequently asked questions. If you are undecided and would like to learn more about us and how we are contributing to essential missions, check out our Cobalt Streamworks News page! We share information about the tech world around us and how we are making an impact! Still have questions, no worries! You can reach us at Contact Cobalt Streamworks. We are happy to connect and cover the information needed to as