Vets Hired
Software Developer Manager
Reston, District of Columbia, US
Role snapshot
Vets Hired is hiring a Software Developer Manager on a full-time basis. This is a role based in Reston, District of Columbia, US.
- Company
- Vets Hired
- Location
- Reston, District of Columbia, US
- Job type
- Full-time
- Experience
- 7–10 years
- Posted
- Sep 17, 2026
Who this role suits
Experienced professionals who can lead projects, set direction and be accountable for outcomes, not just tasks.
How to prepare your application
- Prepare examples of decisions you drove, how you measured the result, and how you worked with other teams.
- Be ready to discuss trade-offs and scope, not only the tools you have used.
- Read what Vets Hired publishes about its product or team, so you can say clearly why this role and this company.
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About the role
Job Summary
The Software Developer Lead will support mission-critical financial and acquisition systems built on a complex COTS-based ecosystem. The role will lead technical planning, oversee development efforts, guide modernization initiatives, and collaborate with developers, product owners, subject matter experts, system integrators, and leadership.
The position requires strong technical leadership, problem-solving, mentoring, and communication skills. The Software Developer Lead will help establish development best practices, ensure software quality, support CI/CD improvements, and contribute to the long-term technical direction of the program.
Responsibilities
COTS Leadership
- Lead technical work within a complex COTS environment.
- Guide customization, integration, extension, and troubleshooting of modules and services.
- Collaborate with subject matter experts on upgrades, configuration, and interface alignment.
Software Engineering & Architecture
- Design, develop, and maintain services and applications supporting mission systems.
- Apply engineering best practices for reliability, maintainability, and performance.
- Ensure secure coding practices consistent with required security standards.
Cloud, Containers, and DevSecOps
- Build, deploy, and maintain applications running in OpenShift using Podman, containers, and orchestration patterns.
- Oversee creation and maintenance of container images and deployment pipelines.
- Troubleshoot and optimize containerized applications.
- Support and develop system integrations using WebMethods.
- Guide interface troubleshooting between enterprise systems.
Database & Data Layer
- Work with relational databases such as Oracle and PostgreSQL.
- Support data modeling, query tuning, and integration with application data structures.
Team Leadership & Quality Assurance
- Lead, mentor, and develop software developers with varying experience levels.
- Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to development standards.
- Support root cause analysis and continuous improvement.
- Establish and reinforce development processes, documentation standards, and Agile practices.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent, typically with 7–10 years of related work experience.
- 7–10 years of software development experience, including at least 3 years in a technical or engineering lead role.
- Hands-on experience with complex COTS products.
- Strong Java development experience, including microservices architectures.
- Experience developing and deploying applications in OpenShift.
- Experience with GitLab for source control and CI/CD.
- Strong database skills, including Oracle or comparable relational database experience.
- Ability to prioritize tasks and lead development efforts in a dynamic environment.
- Strong communication, teamwork, and mentoring abilities.
- Experience with WebMethods for system-to-system integrations.
- U.S. Citizenship.
- Active TS Clearance.
Nice to Have
- Experience leading development of Java-based microservices and shared components.
- Experience building, hardening, and deploying container images.
- Experience with DevSecOps, system administration, or platform engineering.
- Experience supporting software development in a DoD environment.
- Experience with shell scripting, automation tooling, or CI/CD pipeline design.
- Experience contributing to large COTS upgrades or modernization initiatives.
Tech Stack
- Momentum (CGI) 8.x
- Java / J2EE
- OpenShift
- GitLab
- Oracle / PostgreSQL / SQL
- WebMethods
- Linux
- C# / C++
- Shell scripting
- DevSecOps / System Administration