Zachary Piper Solutions is currently seeking a Senior AI Software Developer to support air traffic modernization efforts for a government customer based in Gaithersburg, MD. This position is a full-time role that will be hybrid, requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days remote each week.
As a Senior AI Software Developer, you will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and modernizing mission-critical software systems that directly support national air traffic operations. This role combines traditional software engineering with AI-augmented development practices to improve software quality, accelerate delivery, and enhance system reliability within a highly collaborative Agile/SAFe environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead Agile sprint planning efforts to ensure alignment of team priorities, clear deliverables, and successful project execution.
- Mentor and guide development teams by sharing technical expertise, removing roadblocks, and fostering continuous improvement.
- Design, develop, and maintain microservices-based applications using modern software engineering best practices.
- Collaborate with product owners, architects, systems engineers, and developers within an Agile/SAFe environment.
- Participate in sprint planning, daily standups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
- Translate system requirements into scalable, maintainable software solutions.
- Develop clean, maintainable, and testable code while following CI/CD and DevSecOps practices.
- Contribute to system architecture discussions and technical decision-making.
- Integrate software services with databases, messaging systems, and external APIs.
- Support troubleshooting, performance optimization, and system enhancements.
- Work closely with QA, DevOps, and platform engineering teams to ensure reliable software delivery.
- Implement automated testing strategies including unit, integration, contract, and end-to-end testing.
- Utilize AI-assisted development tools to improve development velocity, refactoring, debugging, and test creation.
- Support modernization initiatives for real-time, safety-critical government systems.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience).
- Ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust investigation
- 8+ years of software development experience, or a Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience.
- Hands-on experience building and supporting microservices-based systems.
- Proficiency in at least one modern programming language such as Java, Python, C++, or similar development languages on Linux-based systems.
- Experience or familiarity with AI/ML-enabled systems, intelligent platforms, automation technologies, or AI-assisted development tools.
- Experience working within Agile software development environments.
- Understanding of APIs, distributed systems, and service-oriented architectures.
- Successful completion of all required government background investigations.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with Git-based version control systems and CI/CD pipelines.
- Familiarity with the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
- Experience working with relational and/or NoSQL databases.
- Hands-on experience with Kafka or other event-streaming technologies.
- Cloud experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP (AWS preferred).
- Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and container orchestration platforms.
- Experience working in DevSecOps environments.
- Experience implementing automated testing frameworks and integrating automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines.
- Experience supporting real-time, mission-critical, or government systems.
Compensation to include:
- Salary Range: $130,000 - $175,000 depending on experience
- Full Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, PTO, Sick Leave if Required by Law
This job opens for applications on 9/29/2026. Applications for this position will be accepted for at least 30 days from the posting date.
Keywords: AI Software Developer, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, AI-Assisted Development, Microservices, Software Engineering, Java, Python, C++, Linux, Agile, SAFe, Scaled Agile Framework, DevSecOps, CI/CD, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, Kafka, Event Streaming, APIs, Distributed Systems, Cloud Computing, Automated Testing, Unit Testing, Integration Testing, End-to-End Testing, Contract Testing, Software Architecture, Systems Engineering, Air Traffic Control, FAA, Aviation Technology, Government Programs, Public Trust Clearance, Real-Time Systems, Mission-Critical Systems, Backend Development, Cloud Native Applications, Software Modernization, DevOps, Technical Leadership, System Design, NoSQL Databases, Relational Databases, Gaithersburg, Maryland