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Boeing

Builds commercial aircraft, defense and space systems

Principal Software Engineer - Developer, Phantom Works

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026Deadline 10/30/26
$198.1k - $267.9k+ Potential signing bonus
Expert
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, Bachelor of Science (BS)
St Charles, MO, USA+2 moreMore locations: St. Louis, MO, USA | Berkeley, MO, USA
In Person100% onsite; occasional travel (10%) to California may be required.
Software Engineering
No H1B Sponsorship
US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree is required.
  • An active U.S. Top Secret security clearance is required; a U.S. clearance active within the past 24 months is considered active. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain the clearance.
  • At least 3 years of technical leadership experience in ground and software systems engineering, including requirements, design, and operation, is required.
  • At least 3 years of experience as the technical leader of a software development or product deployment team is required.
  • At least 5 years of experience with Development Operations or Development Security Operations is required.
  • At least 5 years of experience with configuration management tools and best practices for systems, software, and hardware design is required.
  • Candidates must meet U.S. export control compliance requirements as a U.S. Person, defined to include a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee.
  • Candidates must satisfy the company’s Conflict of Interest assessment process.
  • Candidates must complete a technical assessment as part of the selection process.
  • The position requires occasional travel, potentially 10% to California.
  • Candidates must be able to work 100% onsite at one of the listed location options.
Responsibilities
  • Own and maintain software architecture, focusing on interface clarity, stability, versioning, and maintainable production-type software to minimize integration risk.
  • Partner with stakeholders to inform system definition and translate system-level requirements into software requirements and models that meet customer, operational, and performance requirements, with clear traceability to design, code, and test artifacts.
  • Manage supplier and subcontractor software deliverables to ensure they meet team processes and integration requirements.
  • Lead the software engineering team’s agile delivery by facilitating sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews and retrospectives, and removing impediments to flow.
  • Serve as the software Agile/Delivery lead by owning backlog prioritization with product and system owners, defining sprint goals, and ensuring timely delivery of integration-ready increments.
  • Define, document, and enforce software integration contracts, data models, and message definitions with Integration and Test and Systems leads.
  • Ensure software is designed for testability by requiring unit, component, integration, SIL/HIL test artifacts with code deliveries, including observability hooks, and ensuring failures are diagnosable.
  • Lead DevSecOps and CI/CD practices to support repeatable builds, automated testing, artifact traceability, and consistent deployments across development, integration, and test environments.
  • Collaborate with Integration and Test to align delivery cadence with integration increments and controlled configuration baselines.
  • Drive verification and validation execution for software components, support development of test strategies, analyze test results, and triage defects with the team.
  • Establish and track delivery metrics, including velocity, cycle time, quality metrics, and technical debt, and use them to improve predictability and quality.
  • Coach and mentor engineers on agile practices, test automation, CI/CD, code quality, and observability.
  • Contribute to risk and issue management affecting software delivery and integration readiness, escalating when needed to protect integration milestones.
  • Document integration results and test findings, and provide inputs for design reviews and readiness assessments.
Desired Qualifications
  • A Level 5 / Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, engineering technology (including manufacturing engineering technology), chemistry, physics, mathematics, data science, or computer science and at least 14 years of related work experience; or a bachelor's degree and at least 18 years of directly related work experience; or at least 22 years of related, relevant experience.
  • An advanced degree (MS or PhD) in a relevant field.
  • Practical experience with requirements tracing and configuration management.
  • Certified Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist, or equivalent agile certification.
  • Prior leadership on aerospace, defense, avionics, or other safety-critical systems.
  • Experience with cloud-native infrastructures, including Docker/Kubernetes, AWS GovCloud, or Azure Government.
  • Experience with model-based design and verification and SIL/HIL testing environments.
  • Experience managing subcontractor software deliveries.
  • Significant experience with real-time embedded software using C/C++, low-level driver development, network stacks, and hardware/software testing and debugging for microcontrollers and/or FPGAs.
  • Experience and ability to implement real-time embedded hardware, firmware, and software.
  • Strong analytical skills and knowledge and proficiency with physical modeling and simulation tools.
  • High-level software development experience for applied physics, modeling, and/or simulation using MATLAB, Python, or Jupyter.
  • Experience in real-time embedded systems and low-level driver development with microcontrollers, single-board computers, and/or FPGAs.
  • Ability to perform control system logic/algorithm, hardware, and software development tasks.

About the company

Boeing builds commercial airplanes, military aircraft and space systems for airlines, governments and other aerospace customers worldwide. Its passenger jet families include the 737 and 787, while its defense portfolio spans fighter aircraft, helicopters, tankers and satellites. Engineers design and integrate aircraft structures and systems, and factories assemble and test the finished products for delivery to customers. The company earns money through aircraft and equipment sales, government development contracts, and services such as maintenance, spare parts and flight training. Boeing was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Arlington, Virginia

Founded

1916

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Boeing brought fuselage production in house: December 2025's completed Spirit acquisition includes the 737 structures business.
  • Demand supports long production programs: July 2026 reporting lists Boeing's commercial backlog above 6,200 airplanes.
  • Eligible staff study without annual STEM tuition caps: Boeing pays partner schools directly under Learning Together.

What critics are saying

  • Commercial recovery remains unprofitable: July 2026 reporting shows Boeing's airplane division lost $322 million in the second quarter.
  • Boeing bears defense overruns: fixed-price deals supplied roughly 60% of its defense manufacturing and defense services revenue in 2025.
  • Union negotiations shape Boeing factory careers: its U.S. workforce has 32 separate labor agreements with different expiration dates.

What makes Boeing unique

  • Boeing dominates cargo aircraft: it says its freighters serve over 90% of the global air freight market.
  • Service work extends beyond Boeing jets: Global Services supports equipment regardless of its original manufacturer.
  • Heavy lifting uses two rotors: Boeing's Chinook places its lifting rotors in tandem for cargo missions.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-2%

1 year growth

-2%

2 year growth

-2%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 22nd, 2026
Boeing's jet unit still loses money despite record deliveries and $597B backlog

Boeing's commercial jet unit is still losing money, posting an operating margin of negative 2.7% in fiscal Q2 2026 despite delivering 171 airplanes, its most in a quarter since 2018. The unit earned $11.8 billion, nearly half of Boeing's $24.6 billion revenue. Management blames pricing drags that take time to fade. Cash margins on the 737 and 787 sit slightly above breakeven, and Boeing is ramping the 737 to 47 airplanes a month. Company-wide, the operating margin was negative 5.4% over the twelve months to June 2026, against 11.7% in 2018. The stock fell 11.3% over the year to October 21, 2026, while the S&P 500 returned 16.5%. Management expects better prices on its record $597 billion backlog and targets free cash flow of $1 billion to $3 billion for 2026. Boeing reports on October 27.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 20th, 2026
FAA certifies Boeing 737-10, clearing way for deliveries of 1,555 ordered jets

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified the Boeing 737-10, the largest jet in the 737 MAX family. Boeing says it will begin deliveries in the coming months. The plane seats up to 230 passengers and has the lowest per-seat costs of any single-aisle jet in service. It also has 365 nautical miles more range than competitors without auxiliary fuel tanks, and cuts CO2 emissions and fuel use by 20%. More than 30 customers have ordered 1,555 of the planes, over 30% of the 737 MAX order book. Certification involved more than 2,000 flight hours and 1,000 ground test hours. "That rigor gives us confidence as we move toward deliveries," said Chris Payne, a Boeing vice president.

CNBC
Oct 20th, 2026
FAA certifies Boeing 737 Max 10 after years of delays, final approval for Max family

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday certified Boeing's 737 Max 10, the largest model in the family and the last to win approval. The plane was due to fly in 2020 but was delayed by safety crises and engineering changes, including to an engine anti-icing system. The approval came weeks after officials reviewed a navigation system glitch and ruled it not a safety-of-flight issue. "We will continue to hold Boeing to the highest safety standards," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. Chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg said orders for the jet make up about 30% of Boeing's backlog. The FAA approved the smaller Max 7 in early August. Boeing opened a fourth 737 Max production line in Everett, Washington, in July.

PR Newswire
Oct 20th, 2026
Boeing launches Dataliner, an AI platform built with Microsoft to give airlines fleet-wide data insights

Boeing has launched Dataliner, an AI-powered platform that helps airlines turn fragmented aviation data into fleet-wide intelligence for maintenance and operational decisions. The company announced it on October 20, 2026. Built with Microsoft, using Azure AI Foundry and Microsoft's data solutions, Dataliner lets airlines keep data in their own environments. Airlines choose what they share and can access Boeing intelligence through applications, APIs, analytics, and AI-enabled tools. "Airlines have more data available to them than ever before, but turning that data into meaningful action remains a challenge," said Lindsey Douglas, vice president at Boeing Global Services. Dataliner will also underpin Boeing's Digital Services portfolio, including new products Asset Lifecycle Planning and TechOps AI Agent.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 15th, 2026
Boeing's board gets an aviation overhaul as it eyes a new jet and a $715B backlog

Boeing's board now has far more aviation experience than the one that elected former chief executive David Calhoun, according to a Motley Fool analysis of company filings. Four current directors stand out: Bradley Tilden, a former Alaska Air Group chief executive; David Joyce, who retired as chief executive of GE Aviation in 2020; Akhil Johri, a former United Technologies chief financial officer; and David Gitlin, who ran two United Technologies aerospace businesses. The earlier board included several members without clear aviation expertise. Only Robert Bradway, John Richardson, and Lynn Good remain. That experience matters as chief executive Kelly Ortberg works to restore the balance sheet before developing a new airplane. He says Boeing needs "a couple more years" before committing to one. The company still holds a $715 billion backlog.