Middleware Software Engineer

Job Title: Middleware Software Engineer

Job Description

We are seeking a hands-on Middleware Software Engineer to support mission-critical distributed systems for Navy and Department of Defense programs. This role focuses on developing, integrating, and troubleshooting high-performance messaging services in a Linux environment using Java and C/C++.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, integrate, and support middleware components using Java and/or C++ in a Linux environment.

• Develop and maintain high-performance publish-subscribe messaging capabilities for distributed, near-real-time systems.

• Configure, integrate, and troubleshoot DDS or comparable messaging technologies.

• Use Google Protocol Buffers to define, serialize, and exchange structured data between distributed applications.

• Diagnose message-delivery, data-flow, latency, connectivity, and service-availability issues across networked systems.

• Investigate why messages or data are not reaching their intended destinations and isolate issues involving applications, middleware, operating systems, ports, services, or networks.

• Use Linux and network-diagnostic tools such as tcpdump, Wireshark, netstat, netcat, vmstat, ps, and related utilities.

• Monitor and troubleshoot memory consumption, process activity, service status, network connections, port availability, and system-resource utilization.

• Start, stop, restart, and inspect Linux services as part of application integration and production troubleshooting.

• Support TCP/IP and UDP-based communications when applications require direct socket-level messaging.

• Apply software design patterns and sound engineering practices to create scalable, maintainable, and testable middleware solutions.

• Collaborate with software developers, systems engineers, networking specialists, cybersecurity personnel, and government stakeholders to resolve complex integration issues.

• Participate in architecture discussions, design reviews, system re-architecture activities, technical demonstrations, whitepapers, and engineering deep-dives.

• Support modernization and integration of existing distributed software applications into updated middleware architectures.

• Document system behavior, interfaces, troubleshooting findings, technical decisions, and recommended corrective actions.

• Use approved AI-assisted development tools, when appropriate, to improve engineering productivity while independently validating generated code and technical solutions.

Essential Skills

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

• Five or more years of professional software-development, software-integration, or middleware-engineering experience.

• Professional experience developing software in Java, DDS, and/or C++.

• Strong, hands-on experience working in Linux environments.

• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting Linux applications using command-line tools.

• Experience with publish-subscribe messaging architectures and distributed software systems.

• Experience with at least one messaging or middleware technology such as DDS, RTI Connext, RabbitMQ, ZeroMQ, Apache Pulsar, ActiveMQ, Kafka, MQTT, Redis Streams, or IBM MQ.

• Experience with Google Protocol Buffers or a similar serialization framework.

• Understanding of TCP/IP, UDP, ports, sockets, services, processes, and network-based application communications.

• Experience diagnosing message-delivery, connectivity, performance, or data-flow issues in a distributed environment.

• Ability to explain specific technical problems personally encountered, the diagnostic evidence collected, the tools used, and how the issue was resolved.

• Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Two or more years of direct experience developing, integrating, administering, or troubleshooting DDS.

• Experience using DDS with DDSI-RTPS for developing or supporting high-throughput, low-latency, or near-real-time messaging systems.

• Experience working with multithreaded Java or C++ applications.

• Understanding of concurrency concepts such as threads, mutexes, semaphores, synchronization, and race conditions.

• Experience troubleshooting multithreaded applications in production or integration environments.

• Experience with Linux or Unix socket programming.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Manassas, VA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $70.00 - $90.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Manassas,VA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 15, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.