Clarity Innovations

Clarity Innovations

Senior Principal Software Engineer (Go)

Columbia, MD · Principal

Sponsorship not specified$120k-$330kDetected 1 day ago
GoDistributed SystemsAWSAzureCloud PlatformsKubernetesHelmCI/CDDevOpsData EngineeringIncident ResponseCommunicationCollaborationMentoring

About the role

  • As a Senior Principal Software Engineer on this program, you will bridge the gap between cloud infrastructure and custom software engineering.

Responsibilities

  • Develop Go-Based Crossplane Extensions: Write, test, and maintain custom Go-based Crossplane Composition Functions to replace or augment static YAML compositions with sophisticated runtime logic.
  • API & CRD Design: Design, implement, and version Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) that abstract complex infrastructure configurations into intuitive declarative interfaces for application teams.
  • Upstream Contributions & Integrations: Maintain and customize Cluster API (CAPI) providers and Crossplane providers (specifically AWS, Azure, and CAPMOX for Proxmox), contributing patches upstream where applicable.
  • Maintain Architecture Records: Contribute to and execute Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) regarding API specifications, library usage, and controller framework selections.
  • Write, test, and maintain custom Go-based Crossplane Composition Functions to replace or augment static YAML compositions with sophisticated runtime logic.
  • Design, implement, and version Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) that abstract complex infrastructure configurations into intuitive declarative interfaces for application teams.
  • Maintain and customize Cluster API (CAPI) providers and Crossplane providers (specifically AWS, Azure, and CAPMOX for Proxmox), contributing patches upstream where applicable.
  • Strong hands-on experience using the controller-runtime library, client-go, Operator SDK, or Kubebuilder to build custom controllers and operators.

Requirements

  • Advanced Go (Golang) Proficiency: 3+ years of professional experience writing production-grade Go code, with a deep understanding of concurrency patterns (goroutines, channels) and profiling.
  • GitOps & Continuous Delivery: Proficiency with GitOps workflows and continuous delivery practices, using tools like Flux, Helm, and Kustomize to manage infrastructure lifecycles.
  • Systems Thinker: Ability to view physical hardware and hyperscale clouds not as static targets, but as endpoints controlled by software APIs.
  • Partner with and mentor "Sysadmin-turned-DevOps" engineers to help them build proficiency in Go, write robust unit/integration tests for operators, and adopt software-first approaches to infrastructure.
  • 3+ years of professional experience writing production-grade Go code, with a deep understanding of concurrency patterns (goroutines, channels) and profiling.
  • Proficiency with GitOps workflows and continuous delivery practices, using tools like Flux, Helm, and Kustomize to manage infrastructure lifecycles.
  • Ability to view physical hardware and hyperscale clouds not as static targets, but as endpoints controlled by software APIs.
  • Peer Mentorship: Partner with and mentor "Sysadmin-turned-DevOps" engineers to help them build proficiency in Go, write robust unit/integration tests for operators, and adopt software-first approaches to infrastructure.
  • Technical Skills & Experience
  • Kubernetes Internals & Operator Pattern: Strong hands-on experience using the controller-runtime library, client-go, Operator SDK, or Kubebuilder to build custom controllers and operators.
  • Cloud-Native Infrastructure Automation: Experience building and managing infrastructure declaratively, ideally with control-plane-based provisioning tools like Crossplane.
  • Soft Skills & Engineering Mindset
  • Collaboration & Communication: Strong capability to bridge the gap between pure application developers and traditional infrastructure engineers, speaking comfortably to both.
  • Ruthless Solver of Race Conditions: An investigative mindset capable of debugging complex, asynchronous distributed systems where resources depend on sequential, timed events.
  • Extreme Ownership: A proven track record of acting as a technical steward for a product or subsystem, where you care as much about the operational metrics, edge-case failures, and technical debt of the system as you do about delivering new features.
  • Defensive Engineering Mindset: An engineering approach that assumes distributed systems will fail asynchronously. You naturally build deep observability, robust error handling, self-healing reconcile loops, and fallback mechanisms into your Go controllers.
  • Traceability and Documentation: A commitment to maintaining clear architectural records (ADRs), comprehensive unit/integration test suites, and clear API documentation, ensuring that your subsystem can be safely maintained by other engineers.

Nice to have

  • Live-Production Incident Response: Hands-on experience managing incident response lifecycles and resolving critical failures within live, high-scale production systems.
  • API Lifecycle & Maintenance: Proven track record in managing long-term API maintenance, including defining upgrade processes and implementing n-1 compatibility testing to ensure seamless version transitions.

Skills

  • The platform allows application teams to provision secure, isolated Kubernetes clusters and workloads dynamically.
  • The control plane runs Crossplane and Cluster API (CAPI).

Compensation

  • $120,000 - $330,000

Benefits

  • Code advanced sequencing, dependency mapping, and health-validation loops using Crossplane's Usages and Validation APIs to eliminate infrastructure provisioning race conditions.
  • All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Company info

  • first software and data engineering platform modernizes data operations, utilizing advanced workflows, CI/CD, and secure DevSecOps practices.
  • We focus on challenges in Information Warfare, Cyber Operations, Operational Security, and Data Structuring, enabling end-to-end solutions that drive operational impact.
  • We are committed to delivering cutting-edge tools and capabilities that address the most complex national security challenges, empowering our partners to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensuring the success of their critical missions.
  • At Clarity, we are people-focused and set on being a destination employer for top talent, offering an environment where innovation thrives, careers grow, and individuals are valued.
  • Join us as we continue to lead innovation and tackle the most pressing challenges in national security.

Equal opportunity

  • We are an equal opportunity employer.
  • equal opportunity employer.
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