Senior Software Engineer, Defense Unicorns
Registry
$148.8-201.3k
+ Company Stock Options
More information about location
Software for national security systems
Be an early applicant
Software for national security systems
101-200 employees
Be an early applicant
$148.8-201.3k
+ Company Stock Options
More information about location
101-200 employees
Company mission
To create software to solve the unique challenges experienced by the government.
Role
Who you are
- 5+ years experience with software engineering
- Experience building a software tool with core focuses on software lifecycle and management
- Proficient in Go (proficiency in other modern programming languages a plus)
- Strong understanding of system design, APIs, databases, and cloud architecture (e.g., AWS, Azure)
- Familiar with OCI Specifications (Image and Distribution)
- Experience with Supply Chain Security (e.g., SBOMs, security scanning, etc.)
- Excited to assess intricate problems, propose solutions, and implement them effectively
- Familiar with Core Kubernetes Concepts
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, comfortable conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
What the job involves
- Defense Unicorns seeks a Senior Software Engineer to join our UDS Registry team. You’ll collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and end users to ensure we’re building the right solutions—and building them well
- The team builds and operates UDS Registry to reliably manage and deploy UDS packages to any mission environment, serving the ISSM persona. In addition, we own the development and maintenance of Pepr and Lula, ensuring our tools continue to meet real-world mission needs. The Registry team values action, ownership, and focus, taking initiative to see work through from idea to impact
- As a Software Engineer, you’ll operate at the intersection of product development and technical execution. You’ll lead the design, implementation, and deployment of features and systems that have direct impact on mission outcomes
- Work with engineers internal to the company, and within the open source community on feature and bug fix requests
- Proactively identify and resolve ambiguity in product requirements
- Comfortable working proactively, managing time efficiently, and thriving in a vibrant remote work environment! ✨🦄
- Actively participate in communities of practice via Slack and Github Issues
- Integrate software products with existing defense systems, ensuring seamless interoperability and adherence to security protocols
- Own architecture decisions and ensure technical quality across the engineering team
- Participate in on-call rotation for our production environment
- Develop comprehensive documentation, including design specifications, user manuals, and maintenance guides
- Contribute to Open Source Projects. Participating in Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Apache Software Foundation (ASF), or Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) is a huge plus!
- Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends to inform product enhancements and innovation
- Provide technical mentorship and elevate engineering standards across the team
- Influence product direction through deep understanding of user needs and system constraints
Our take
Military defence technology is having to adapt at a quickening pace. However, innovations in the tech sector, outdated technology, varied compute environments and complex security and compliance issues create lags in new defence technology. Defense Unicorns is an open-source tech developer aiming to minimise this lag.
Founded by former Department of Defense software engineers, Defense Unicorns uses AI and innovative software to create military technology for various uses and combat landscapes. The company is particularly focused on tech that can be used in “air-gapped” areas - those that are disconnected from the internet.
In terms of the company's future position in the market, it's notable that the US annual defence budget specifically for IT and cyber has increased to just under $59 billion in 2024. This funding growth exemplifies a rapidly changing combat landscape set against an unpredictable global backdrop, one in which Defense Unicorns has the chance to be an important player.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jan 2026
$136m
SERIES B
Feb 2024
$35m
SERIES A
Total funding: $171.5m
Company benefits
- Medical/Dental/Vision (premiums are 100% company paid)
- Health reimbursement account
- Life insurance & disability insurance
- 401k with employer contribution (regardless of employee contribution)
- Company stock options
- Home office setup budget
- Unlimited paid time off, with a mandatory 10 days off on top of 11 federal government holidays
- Paid parental leave
- Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
Company HQ
Southeast Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO
Leadership
Robert Slaughter
(Co-Founder & CEO)Works as a Trainer at Project Blue. Previously the Director of DoD Platform One, a Counselor at SpaceCAMP, and worked in DevOps for the US Airforce.
Andrew Greene
(Co-Founder & Engineer)Previously worked for DoD Platform One. Was also a Software Engineer at Omitron and at SGT.
Jeff McCoy
(Co-Founder)Previously Co-Founder and CTO at Platform One, Was also CTO at SpaceCAMP, Senior Software Engineer at Defense Innovation Unit, and Co-Founder at DDS Rogue Squadron.
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