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Principal Software Development Engineer – National Imagery

Esri

Vienna, VAJob$151–247K/yrPosted todayStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$151–247K/yr
Location
Vienna, VA
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Top Secret clearance, requiredBachelor's degree, required

Job overview

The Principal Software Development Engineer will build and release Esri software for imagery users in defense and intelligence communities. The role leads subsystem design, sets technical direction, mentors developers, and drives architecture for advanced image analysis solutions at the intersection of GIS, photogrammetry, and remote sensing. The engineer collaborates with software developers and product engineers to create, test, and release technologies for imagery workflows.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

C++, requiredC#, required.NET, requiredSoftware Architecture, requiredRemote Sensing, requiredImage Processing, requiredGIS, requiredDeveloper Mentoring, requiredNITF, nice to haveArcGIS, nice to haveENVI, nice to haveSocet GXP, nice to haveRemoteView, nice to haveEsri APIs, nice to haveProcessing Pipeline Optimization, nice to have

Qualifications

8+ Years Software Development, requiredCOTS or GOTS Software Experience, requiredU.S. Citizenship, requiredAbility to Obtain Top Secret Clearance With SCI Access, requiredBachelor's in Related Field, requiredDefense and Intelligence COTS or GOTS Experience, nice to haveActive Top Secret Clearance With SCI Access, nice to have

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off

Full job description

Overview

You’re passionate about building innovative software that makes a difference in the world of remote sensing and GIS. You thrive on solving complex technical challenges and enjoy leading the design and implementation of significant subsystems and applications. You’re ready to set the technical direction for your team, mentor others, and drive the architecture of advanced image analysis solutions for the defense and intelligence communities. You will build and release Esri software technologies focused on the intersection between GIS, photogrammetry and remote sensing for the defense and intelligence communities. In this role, you will collaborate with a talented team of software developers and product engineers to create, build, test, and release advanced software technologies focused on imagery users.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the design and implementation of major subsystems or applications, serving as the technical expert for your area

  • Architect and optimize software solutions for advanced image processing, analysis, and GIS workflows, supporting a range of remote sensing modalities

  • Mentor and guide other developers, sharing your expertise and helping the team solve challenging design and implementation problems

  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define requirements, set technical direction, and ensure alignment with user needs and project goals

  • Solve key challenges in software architecture, performance, and correctness, ensuring robust and scalable solutions

  • Understand U.S. DoD and intelligence community user requirements and develop appropriate GIS and remote sensing software for various defense and intelligence scenarios

  • Oversee integration of community toolkits, libraries, and APIs into ArcGIS, and drive adoption of best practices in software development

  • Contribute to the overall vision for imagery products, influencing both current and future capabilities

  • Share your knowledge through technical presentations, documentation, and by leading technical discussions within and beyond your team

Requirements

  • 8+ years of software development experience with high performance imagery applications

  • Software development experience working on COTS or GOTS software

  • Deep expertise in C++, C#, .NET, or similar languages, with a strong track record of architecting and optimizing complex software

  • Outstanding understanding of software implementation architecture and the problem domain of remote sensing, image processing, or GIS

  • Proven ability to solve difficult design, optimization, and correctness challenges

  • Experience mentoring and guiding other developers

  • Able to work with controlled unclassified information (CUI)

  • U.S. citizen with the ability to obtain a U.S. Top Secret Clearance with SCI access

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, geography, engineering, remote sensing, photogrammetry, or a related field

Recommended Qualifications

  • Experience with COTS or GOTS software products in the defense and intelligence communities

  • Familiarity with NITF format and specifications

  • Experience with ArcGIS, ENVI, Socet GXP, or RemoteView

  • Experience developing with Esri APIs and optimizing processing pipelines

  • Active U.S. Top Secret clearance with SCI access

#LI-DV2

#LI-Onsite Total Rewards

Esri’s competitive total rewards strategy includes industry-leading health and welfare benefits: medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance for employees (and their families), 401(k) and profit-sharing programs, minimum accrual of 80 hours of vacation leave, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year, and opportunities for personal and professional growth. Base salary is one component of our total rewards strategy. Compensation decisions and the base range for this role take into account many factors including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

A reasonable estimate of the base salary range is $150,696—$247,312 USD

The Company

At Esri, diversity is more than just a word on a map. When employees of different experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and cultures come together, we are more innovative and ultimately a better place to work. We believe in having a diverse workforce that is unified under our mission of creating positive global change. We understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion is not a destination but an ongoing process. We are committed to the continuation of learning, growing, and changing our workplace so every employee can contribute to their life’s best work. Our commitment to these principles extends to the global communities we serve by creating positive change with GIS technology. For more information on Esri’s Racial Equity and Social Justice initiatives, please visit our website here.

If you don’t meet all of the preferred qualifications for this position, we encourage you to still apply!

Esri is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please note that only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e-mail address.

Esri Privacy Esri takes our responsibility to protect your privacy seriously. We are committed to respecting your privacy by providing transparency in how we acquire and use your information, giving you control of your information and preferences, and holding ourselves to the highest national and international standards, including CCPA and GDPR compliance.

How this job compares

Set against the 1,356 open Software Development Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 11, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$151–247K/yr
  • Virginia median$144–194K/yr115 salary ranges
  • US median$144–194K/yr1,234 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $199K, is 18% above the Virginia median midpoint ($169K) — in the top quarter of Software Development Engineer salary ranges in Virginia.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 118 open Software Development Engineer jobs in Virginia and 1,356 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Virginia
Experience
This posting asks for at least 8 years of experience — more than three in four Software Development Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 3 years, across 1,213 postings).
Education
This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 574 of the 1,356 open Software Development Engineer jobs (42%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 11, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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