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Acquisition Software Engineer (5840)

SMX

Patuxent River, MD · HybridJob$88–146K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$88–146K/yr
Location
Patuxent River, MDHybrid
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Secret clearance, required

Job overview

SMX seeks an Acquisition Software Engineer to support software acquisition for the U.S. Navy’s Strike Planning and Execution Systems. The role provides technical expertise across the software life cycle, including planning, development, testing, and integration. The position is based at Patuxent River and uses a hybrid work arrangement, with travel approximately six times per year and a current Secret clearance required.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Software Development, nice to haveSoftware Testing, nice to haveTrade Space Management, nice to haveDevSecOps, nice to haveSoftware Sustainment, nice to haveDoW Acquisition, nice to haveSystem Requirements, nice to haveMission Planning, nice to haveModel-Based Systems Engineering, nice to haveAgile Processes, nice to haveCybersecurity, nice to haveCI/CD Pipelines, nice to haveSoftware Architecture, nice to haveComputer Networks, nice to haveMobile Platforms, nice to haveContainerization, nice to haveSoftware Safety, nice to haveAccreditation, nice to have

Qualifications

Secret Clearance, requiredBachelor's Degree or Technical/Scientific Degree With Systems Engineering Experience, requiredEngineering Activities for Technology Program, requiredAbility to Travel Within CONUS, requiredLocal to Pax River NAS, requiredMilitary Aviator or Navy/Marine Corps Experience, nice to have

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Paid Time Off
401(k) Match
Tuition Assistance

Full job description

SMX is seeking an energetic Systems Engineer to support the development of the Mission Planning System for the U.S. Navy’s Strike Planning and Execution Systems.

An Acquisition Software Engineer is a key member of the software acquisition team, responsible for providing leadership and technical expertise throughout the software life cycle. This role involves everything from planning and development to the execution of all software engineering activities for various programs. Exhibits extensive knowledge of mission planning systems, system architecture, and software development methodologies.

Duty station will be Patuxent River, MD. This position allows for hybrid (mixed on-site and telework) efforts. Requires travel approximately 6 times per year. Current Secret clearance is required.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Development and Testing:

  • Assists and provides guidance in defining software performance requirements and software design.

  • Provides testing support and facilitates communications between development teams and the systems integration and testing entities.

  • Manages software production backlog, prioritizing emerging needs with existing work in progress, resolution of bugs and incorporating enhancements.

  • Captures and refines fleet feedback to drive future product development.

  • Validates iterative software’s adherence to low-level requirements/acceptance criteria.

  • Technical Expertise:

  • Possesses extensive knowledge of software development environments and processes.

  • Performs problem analysis during all phases of development and integration, with experience in trade space management.

  • Has extensive knowledge of and experience implementing modern DevSecOps practices.

  • Comfortable interacting with in-development software systems, maintaining familiarity with changes to products and their impacts to relevant customer/user communities.

  • Specific Duties:

  • Attends pertinent IPT and Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI) associated meetings.

  • Reviews software acquisition documents.

  • Coordinates review activities for documents pertaining to assigned CSCIs.

  • Ensures the generation of pertinent risks, issues, and opportunities for pertinent CSCIs and supports the IPT in their maintenance.

  • Attends and represents the software team at milestone software reviews as requested.

  • Provides trip reports.

  • Advises on software development and testing techniques.

  • Performs software/design doc audits.

  • Determines if delivered software is of adequate quality and adheres to software and cybersecurity best practices.

  • Ensures development’s adherence to the CM plan.

  • Assist the cost team in gathering software data for cost estimates.

  • Ensure the team follows software risks and mitigation plans

  • Assists in establishing and enforcing DevSecOps methodologies and practices within the developer teams.

  • Provides system demonstrations to stakeholders and the development enterprise when required as new software capabilities are implemented.

  • Coordinates with cyber, CI/CD, and fleet integration teams to develop, test, deploy and maintain a fieldable system.

  • Decomposes high-level, fleet-derived capabilities into smaller, well-defined features. With fleet user and SME input, establishes acceptance criteria for derived work.

  • Defines and tracks agile/development metrics, assisting the IPT in translating development metrics into reportable outcomes within the Software Acquisition Pathway.

Required Skills and Experience

  • Clearance Required: Secret

  • A bachelors degree from an accredited university; or technical/scientific degree with systems engineering experience on DoW program(s)

  • Experience working engineering activities for a technology program

  • Ability to travel within CONUS

  • Must reside local to Pax River NAS and able to make scheduled and adhoc meetings in person.

Desired Skills and Experience

  • Experience in any of the following areas is considered enhancing but is not required.

  • Working software development and sustainment programs.

  • Working DoW acquisition programs.

  • Experience as a military aviator or serving in the Navy or Marine Corps

  • Experience generating system requirements.

  • Experience with DoW mission planning

  • Producing and using Model Based Systems Engineering artifacts

  • Agile or Agile SAFe processes

  • Cyber and system security

  • DevSecOps & modern software CI/CD pipelines

  • Software technologies such as: Architectures, Networks, Mobile Platforms, Containerization

  • Software safety, testing, accreditations

#cjpost #LI-HYBRID

The SMX salary determination process takes into account a number of factors, including but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories, relevant prior work experience, specific skills, education and certifications. At SMX, one of our Core Values is to Invest in Our People so we offer a competitive mix of compensation, learning & development opportunities, and benefits. Some key components of our robust benefits include health insurance, paid leave, and retirement.

The proposed salary for this position is:

$87,600—$146,000 USD

At SMX®, we are a team of technical and domain experts dedicated to enabling your mission. From priority national security initiatives for the DoD to highly assured and compliant solutions for healthcare, we understand that digital transformation is key to your future success.

We share your vision for the future and strive to accelerate your impact on the world. We bring both cutting edge technology and an expansive view of what’s possible to every engagement. Our delivery model and unique approaches harness our deep technical and domain knowledge, providing forward-looking insights and practical solutions to power secure mission acceleration.

SMX is an Equal Opportunity employer including disabilities and veterans.

Selected applicant may be subject to a background investigation and/or education verification.

SMX does not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization or immigration related support for this position (i.e. H1B, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, F-1 CPT, J-1, TN, E-2, E-3, L-1 and O-1, or any EADs or other forms of work authorization that require immigration support from an employer).

How this job compares

Set against the 38,873 open Software Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 14, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$88–146K/yr
  • Maryland median$119–205K/yr1,043 salary ranges
  • US median$132–214K/yr31,450 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $117K, is 29% below the Maryland median midpoint ($164K) — in the lowest quarter of Software Engineer salary ranges in Maryland.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 1,280 open Software Engineer jobs in Maryland and 38,873 across the US. 8% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Maryland
Experience
Software Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 3 to 7 years (32,117 postings).
Education
12,029 of the 38,873 open Software Engineer jobs (31%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Pay, requirements and demand for Software Engineer jobs

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 14, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

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