Staff Software Engineer (Attack & User Emulation Team)

SimSpace serves as an AI Proving Ground where organizations can confidently train, test, and outmaneuver adversaries in any environment. Trusted by allied governments, militaries, enterprises, and research institutions worldwide, SimSpace enables adaptive, AI-ready defenses that stay ahead of evolving threats. Founded in 2015 by experts from U.S. Cyber Command and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the platform unifies training, testing, and validation in a realistic, live-fire simulation—helping teams evaluate security investments, optimize performance, and compress cyber readiness cycles from months to days.

Why join SimSpace? We are an organization that is focused on building our culture and mindfully enhancing our atmosphere every day which is why we have collaborated on an integral value system. Our governing philosophy of being Human Centered is deeply embedded within our value system. We apply this philosophy to every one of our internal team members, external clients, and their customers.

How Do We Work? We believe that people are at the center of everything we do. SimSpace fosters a culture of continuous learning, curiosity, and professional growth. That belief shows up in action: in-house training, internal and external learning platforms, cyber conferences, industry events, and dedicated time for skill development. Our people are empowered to shape their careers - and it shows. Year over year, SimSpace consistently outperforms industry benchmarks in internal mobility, promotions, and total rewards growth.

Who Thrives Here? We are a team of innovators, protectors, and problem-solvers. We believe diversity of thought and experience fuels better solutions, and we’re committed to building teams that reflect the communities we serve. Whether you’re remote or office-based, you’ll collaborate with talented colleagues across departments and time zones, united by the mission to create a safer digital world.

We invite you to apply today!

We are looking for: A Staff Software Engineer for our Attack and User Emulation (AUE) Team to provide expertise in microservices, event-driven messaging systems, Spring Boot, and containerization. In this role, you will drive delivery of various containerized microservices that provide the core activity emulation services of our cyber ranges. These services allow our users to simulate real-life cyber attacks and user personas to add high fidelity realism to our products.

You'll be responsible for setting technical direction across the team, guiding engineering practices, system architecture, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement. Your mentorship will be key in helping senior and mid-level team members grow, while you contribute directly to code, design, and architecture. You will be expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, define solutions to ambiguous problems, and influence technical decisions beyond your immediate team.

What will you be doing as our Staff Software Engineer on the AUE team:

• Design, develop, and maintain the core services for offensive cybersecurity and user emulation in our range simulation environment, focusing on scalability, performance, and fault tolerance.

• Own and drive end-to-end technical projects, from requirements gathering and architecture design to deployment. This includes defining scope, identifying risks, and aligning stakeholders across teams, while setting clear goals and priorities.

• Mentor and support engineers on the team; promote a collaborative culture and guide the team in coding best practices, testing, and architectural design. Actively develop the technical skills of senior engineers and help raise the overall engineering bar on the team.

• Define and evangelize technical architecture, system design, and best practices through documentation, design reviews, and team forums to ensure knowledge sharing and alignment.

• Collaborate with Product Managers and UX Designers to create user-centered solutions that are technically robust and aligned across all departmental priorities and the needs of the business. Proactively surface technical tradeoffs and their business implications to non-technical stakeholders.

• Take ownership of cross-team outcomes by ensuring the AUE team's technical decisions, interfaces, and delivery commitments reflect the needs of the broader organization,not just internal team goals. Measure success by the value delivered to the full product and its users, not just what your team ships.

• Partner with other engineering teams as both a consumer and provider of APIs and services, treating those teams as customers with real needs, SLAs, and feedback loops. Advocate for the end-to-end product experience rather than optimizing for your team's contribution in isolation.

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with partner engineering teams, proactively communicating changes, soliciting feedback on interfaces and contracts, and ensuring the AUE team is a reliable, high-trust dependency for the rest of the organization.

• Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to ensure code quality, performance, and adherence to company standards.

• Implement robust monitoring and alerting strategies to maintain high uptime and quick response to potential system issues.

• Ensure services meet security and compliance standards by integrating appropriate controls into the development lifecycle.

• Identify gaps in tooling, processes, or architecture before they become problems,and drive the initiatives needed to address them.

What are the qualifications to apply? To be successful as a Staff Software Engineer on AUE team you need to have:

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in software development with proven skills in building large-scale, distributed systems. Experience operating as a technical lead or Staff-level engineer, with demonstrated influence beyond your immediate team.

• Expertise in an OOP-based language such as Java or Kotlin, with a demonstrable knowledge of API design, integration, and best practices.

• Experience with event-driven architectures and messaging systems (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar).

• Proven experience with unit testing, integration testing, and deploying services in Kubernetes or a similar container orchestration platform.

• Demonstrated ability to design, build, and operate fault-tolerant systems, including experience in requirements gathering, risk identification, project breakdown, and sequencing for efficient development.

• Strong communication skills to present and articulate designs to technical and non-technical audiences ,including experience leading architecture reviews and influencing technical direction.

• Understanding of offensive security methods and tactics.

• Knowledge of networking concepts including DNS, TCP/IP, routing protocols.

Who you are:

• You feel comfortable leading, motivating, and delegating team initiatives,and you default to growing others rather than hoarding technical ownership.

• You enjoy solving complex problems & building solutions through collaborative methods.

• You see your team's work in the context of the broader product. You care about how other teams integrate with what you build, and you measure success by the outcomes your work enables across the organization, not just what gets shipped.

• You are always open for feedback, and are willing to give feedback to your colleagues.

• You understand that nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement.

• You are comfortable with ambiguity, fast-paced delivery, and pivoting when priorities change. You don't wait for a problem to be fully defined,you drive clarity.

• You are driven off of goals and team outcomes.

• You are focused on the iterative delivery of high-quality well tested code.

• You are conscious of scalability, re-usability, but also realistic when it comes to trade-offs.

• You have worked in the security domain or security adjacent area building tools and products used world-wide by security professionals.

• You think in systems. You consider how your decisions affect teams and services beyond your own.

Our Tech Stack:

• Kotlin, Java, Springboot, Kubernetes

We’re proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive package designed to support your well-being, growth, and success:

• Compensation. Base salary range: $185,000 – $260,000, reflecting our confidence in your expertise and impact, with the opportunity for annual bonuses tied to company performance and individual contributions.

• Health & Wellness. Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, plus savings plans—coverage starts on day one!

• Mental Health Support. Access to company-paid counseling, coaching, and resources for you and your family through Spring Health.

• Financial Well-Being. Plan for your future with a 401(k)-retirement savings plan featuring a company match.

• Parental Leave. Paid leave plans to support you and your loved ones during life’s most important moments.

• Ownership Opportunities: Equity stock options at hire, with annual performance-based grants—become an invested stakeholder in our shared success.

• Referral Rewards: Earn $1,500–$3,500 for every qualified hire through our employee referral program.

• Peloton Interactive Wellness Program: Full- and partial- subsidized membership plans and equipment discounts to help you reach your personalized wellness goals.

• Continuous Learning: Access a LinkedIn Learning membership to prioritize your personal and professional development.

• Social Connections: Monthly reimbursements for meaningful connections with teammates through our SocialSpace Community.

• Extra Perks: Legal plan coverage, pet insurance, wellness reimbursements, and more to simplify life’s details.

• Semi-flexible hours, with the expectation that you overlap the main part of the day to meet deadlines, collaborate with colleagues and attend key meetings.

SimSpace is an Equal Opportunity Employer:

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

SimSpace is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups only apply to jobs if they meet all of the qualifications. However, no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. SimSpace encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. We look forward to your application!

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, in accordance with applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact careers@simspace.com.

SimSpace does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies.

Actual compensation for the position is based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to affordability, skills, qualifications and experience, and may vary from the range.