Principal RUST Software Engineer

Principal RUST Software Engineer Washington DC Full-time, Onsite (No Remote Options) 9/80 Work Week (Every Other Friday Off) Department of Defense (DoD) Secret Clearance REQUIRED $200,000 to $250,000 + Bonus + Full Benefits Summary Seeking a Principal RUST Software Engineer to serve as a key technical leader in the strategic evolution of our mission-critical systems. This role is not just about writing code; it is about providing expert-level architectural direction and driving organizational change. The Principal Engineer will be instrumental in setting the direction and strategy for product and infrastructure development by leading the full-scale adoption and deployment of the RUST programming language across multiple embedded product lines. You will be responsible for defining the RUST engineering roadmap, ensuring code is secure and memory-safe, and mentoring senior and junior engineers on complex implementation patterns for our C5 and Cyber Solution Centers. The selected candidate will operate as a key team member on a Scrum team, shaping the future of secure, high-assurance software in the aerospace and defense sector. Key Responsibilities • RUST Strategic Leadership: Define, champion, and drive the comprehensive strategy and roadmap for RUST adoption, deployment, and integration across multiple mission-critical product lines, ensuring technical alignment with long-term business goals. • Architectural Guidance & Standards: Establish and enforce principal-level best practices, design patterns, and architectural standards for memory-safe and efficient usage of RUST, especially in resource-constrained embedded environments. • Technical Mentorship & Development: Serve as the primary technical mentor, subject matter expert, and ultimate reviewer for RUST code and complex design artifacts, significantly elevating the skill set of the broader engineering team. • Legacy Modernization: Guide and execute the complex integration or conversion of significant legacy C/C++ software components into production-ready RUST solutions, prioritizing security and performance parity. • High-Assurance Software Development: Apply expert-level computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis concepts to develop high-assurance, maintainable software (primarily in RUST, C/C++, and Python) for embedded real-time operating systems (e.g., VxWorks, Linux, Integrity). • Advanced Troubleshooting: Investigate, diagnose, and resolve the root causes of the most complex and systemic technical issues (e.g., race conditions, memory issues) at the system level, often requiring independent judgment and cross-functional team leadership. • SDLC Ownership: Drive and participate in all phases of the Software Development Life Cycle, including leading requirements decomposition, system-level design review, implementation, hardware-software integration, and formal test verification. • Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate closely with program managers, systems engineers, and external stakeholders to translate high-level mission requirements into prioritized, scoped, and actionable technical tasks. • Develop software test plans, procedures, and relevant technical documentation, ensuring compliance with industry and customer standards (e.g., NSA Type 1, DO-178). Qualifications • Experience: A minimum of 12 years of progressive, prior relevant experience, demonstrating increasing technical responsibility, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field (or 10 years with a Graduate Degree, or 16 years without a degree). • RUST Expertise: 5+ years of hands-on experience developing production RUST software, including a demonstrated deep architectural understanding of the language, its concurrency models, and its application to high-assurance systems. • C/C++ Interoperability: Ex