Junior Systems Engineer - Jira/Confluence/Agile/Java/Javascript
About the job
- A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required; a master's degree may substitute for two years of experience.
- Ability to work directly with customers and stakeholders to elicit, analyze, and document functional requirements.
- Ability to translate requirements into actionable Jira user stories and epics for development teams.
- Experience conducting functional or manual testing of application features.
- Familiarity with Agile software development methodologies and collaboration tools such as Jira and Confluence.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present technical work to non-technical stakeholders.
- Familiarity with software development concepts, such as Java or JavaScript frameworks and RESTful microservices, sufficient to communicate effectively with developers.
- Must currently hold a Top Secret/SCI U.S. Government security clearance with a favorable polygraph; candidates must be U.S. citizens.
- Elicit and document functional requirements from the government customer and stakeholders, decomposing them into detailed technical requirements.
- Translate technical requirements into well-defined user stories and acceptance criteria for the development team.
- Curate and groom the sprint backlog, ensuring stories are appropriately sized and sequenced so each developer has sufficient, well-scoped work.
- Serve as a point of contact for developers, addressing implementation questions and helping remove blockers throughout the sprint.
- Conduct initial functional testing of new development to validate features against requirements before broader quality assurance and customer review.
- Present new development and completed features to the government customer, gathering feedback for future iterations.
- Partner with the user experience team on new designs, ensuring requirements and user stories reflect usability and design considerations.
- Participate actively in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, demos, and retrospectives, and support the broader development lifecycle.
- Familiarity with cloud-based architecture and deployment using Amazon Web Services.
- Exposure to user experience or design collaboration, or wireframing tools.
- Familiarity with domain knowledge surrounding government agency reporting and dissemination policies.
About the company
Captivation builds digital software for mission makers by delivering engineering services across a wide range of disciplines. The work is collaborative, with teams that move quickly like a small business and take pride in what they develop. The company emphasizes transparency, a flat organizational structure, and a developer-focused culture, which enables engineers to work directly and iteratively with clients. Compared with larger firms, Captivation differentiates itself through its focus on timely delivery, practical problem solving, and actively pursuing challenging projects for the Intelligence Community, using modern software technologies. The goal is to produce solutions that clients value, on time, while growing the team and empowering its engineers to take ownership of their work.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Columbia, Maryland
Founded
2014
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Greenhouse showed 72 openings in October 2026, signaling sustained program demand.
- Recent roles target AI/ML, Rust, cloud, and 508 accessibility modernization.
- Federal award history and active hiring suggest sticky relationships with cleared government customers.
What critics are saying
- Captivation's dependence on classified Annapolis Junction programs creates single-contract revenue shock risk.
- TS/SCI polygraph hiring shrinks the talent pool and slows scaling across 72 openings.
- A 2025-2026 contract loss could force rapid headcount cuts and damage clearance trust.
What makes Captivation unique
- Captivation serves TS/SCI-cleared mission software for DoD, USCYBERCOM, and DISA.
- Its 72-job 2026 slate spans DSP, AI, Kubernetes, and geospatial reporting tools.
- Direct-hire, developer-owned culture with 20% 401k and six weeks PTO differentiates recruiting.
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Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
- Unlimited Paid Time Off
- 401(k) Retirement Plan