Full-Time

Software Engineer 3

Go/Python/Kubernetes/Kafka/Ansible

Captivation

Captivation

11-50 employees

Software engineering for mission-focused teams

Compensation Overview

$130k - $270k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Annapolis Junction, MD, USA

In Person

US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required

Category
DevOps & Infrastructure (2)
,
Required Skills
Kubernetes
Python
Apache Kafka
Go
Terraform
Observability
Ansible
DevOps
Helm
Requirements
  • Must currently hold a Top Secret/SCI U.S. Government security clearance with a favorable Polygraph, therefore all candidates must be a U.S. citizen
  • Twenty (20) years of experience as a Software Engineer is required
  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science from an accredited college or university is required
  • Deep experience with Go or Python in cloud-native contexts
  • Strong Kubernetes experience: CRDs, Helm, GitOps, multi-tenant app deployments
  • Experience with event-driven or agent-based systems (e.g., Kafka, controller patterns)
  • Familiar with infrastructure automation (Terraform, cloud-init, Ansible)
  • Comfortable balancing automation and operator oversight in complex environments
  • Owns end-to-end delivery of system components
  • Helps shape internal standards and shared tooling
  • Guides team through design decisions and tradeoffs
  • Thinks in systems, not just services
Responsibilities
  • Design scalable workflows for deploying and managing Kubernetes-native applications
  • Lead the development of reusable Helm charts, GitOps templates, and deployment strategies
  • Build system-aware controllers or agents that automate app lifecycle tasks
  • Contribute to platform-wide architecture decisions (e.g., deployment strategy, multi-cluster config, observability)
  • Mentor junior engineers and review code for reliability, clarity, and best practices
  • Collaborate with DevOps and platform teams to ensure secure and compliant deployments

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

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • DoD cyber defense spending growth expands addressable market for CYBERCOM and DISA.
  • Salt Lake City expansion diversifies talent pool beyond Maryland headquarters.
  • Custom software developer NAICS certification unlocks targeted federal contracting opportunities.

What critics are saying

  • Booz Allen Hamilton and incumbents dominate IC contracts, squeezing $1M-revenue firms.
  • Talent exodus to Palantir and scaled competitors threatens 29-person team delivery.
  • JADC2 AI/ML mandate requires platform scale Captivation cannot match internally.

What makes Captivation unique

  • GSA Schedule 47QRCA25DS201 contract enables direct federal procurement without competitive bidding.
  • Developer-oriented culture with flattened structure attracts mission-driven engineering talent.
  • Specialized expertise in DSP, ML/AI, and streaming analytics for intelligence missions.

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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