Principal Software Development Engineer – National Imagery
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 10, 2026. First seen by Alion on Nov 10, 2026. Esri scores B on the Alion truth index.
Overview
You’re passionate about building innovative software that makes a difference in the world of remote sensing and GIS. You thrive on solving complex technical challenges and enjoy leading the design and implementation of significant subsystems and applications. You’re ready to set the technical direction for your team, mentor others, and drive the architecture of advanced image analysis solutions for the defense and intelligence communities. You will build and release Esri software technologies focused on the intersection between GIS, photogrammetry and remote sensing for the defense and intelligence communities. In this role, you will collaborate with a talented team of software developers and product engineers to create, build, test, and release advanced software technologies focused on imagery users.
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and implementation of major subsystems or applications, serving as the technical expert for your area
- Architect and optimize software solutions for advanced image processing, analysis, and GIS workflows, supporting a range of remote sensing modalities
- Mentor and guide other developers, sharing your expertise and helping the team solve challenging design and implementation problems
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define requirements, set technical direction, and ensure alignment with user needs and project goals
- Solve key challenges in software architecture, performance, and correctness, ensuring robust and scalable solutions
- Understand U.S. DoD and intelligence community user requirements and develop appropriate GIS and remote sensing software for various defense and intelligence scenarios
- Oversee integration of community toolkits, libraries, and APIs into ArcGIS, and drive adoption of best practices in software development
- Contribute to the overall vision for imagery products, influencing both current and future capabilities
- Share your knowledge through technical presentations, documentation, and by leading technical discussions within and beyond your team
Requirements
- 8+ years of software development experience with high performance imagery applications
- Software development experience working on COTS or GOTS software
- Deep expertise in C++, C#, .NET, or similar languages, with a strong track record of architecting and optimizing complex software
- Outstanding understanding of software implementation architecture and the problem domain of remote sensing, image processing, or GIS
- Proven ability to solve difficult design, optimization, and correctness challenges
- Experience mentoring and guiding other developers
- Able to work with controlled unclassified information (CUI)
- U.S. citizen with the ability to obtain a U.S. Top Secret Clearance with SCI access
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, geography, engineering, remote sensing, photogrammetry, or a related field
Recommended Qualifications
- Experience with COTS or GOTS software products in the defense and intelligence communities
- Familiarity with NITF format and specifications
- Experience with ArcGIS, ENVI, Socet GXP, or RemoteView
- Experience developing with Esri APIs and optimizing processing pipelines
- Active U.S. Top Secret clearance with SCI access
Total Rewards
Esri’s competitive total rewards strategy includes industry-leading health and welfare benefits: medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance for employees (and their families), 401(k) and profit-sharing programs, minimum accrual of 80 hours of vacation leave, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year, and opportunities for personal and professional growth. Base salary is one component of our total rewards strategy. Compensation decisions and the base range for this role take into account many factors including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
A reasonable estimate of the base salary range is
$150,696—$247,312 USD
The Company
At Esri, diversity is more than just a word on a map. When employees of different experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and cultures come together, we are more innovative and ultimately a better place to work. We believe in having a diverse workforce that is unified under our mission of creating positive global change. We understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion is not a destination but an ongoing process. We are committed to the continuation of learning, growing, and changing our workplace so every employee can contribute to their life’s best work. Our commitment to these principles extends to the global communities we serve by creating positive change with GIS technology. For more information on Esri’s Racial Equity and Social Justice initiatives, please visit our website here.
If you don’t meet all of the preferred qualifications for this position, we encourage you to still apply!
Esri is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please note that only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e-mail address.
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