Development Lead — Cloud Services & Integration

NIRA, Inc. is seeking a Development Lead to direct hands-on software delivery for a U.S. Department of Justice cloud-based digital evidence management program serving U.S. Attorneys' Offices nationwide. The lead will manage an Agile development team building custom services and COTS integrations around a FedRAMP High SaaS evidence platform - owning technical delivery from sprint planning through release in accordance with DOJ incremental IT and Agile development methodologies. Responsibilities Lead a team of developers through sprint planning, backlog refinement, code review, and delivery while remaining hands-on in design and development Build and maintain custom services around the core SaaS platform, including data export services, system adapters, reporting/analytics, and production-tracking synchronization Implement integrations with enterprise COTS systems (identity/SSO, identity governance, ITSM, eDiscovery review, SIEM) using REST APIs and event-driven patterns Establish and enforce engineering standards: secure coding practices, peer review, automated test coverage, and CI/CD pipeline discipline Manage release execution - regression testing, deployment planning, and rollback procedures - ensuring releases preserve existing functionality under approved change control Translate solution architecture into implementation plans; estimate effort and report progress, risks, and issues to program leadership and the Government project manager Author and maintain the Software Development Plan, technical documentation, and developer contributions to training materials Triage and resolve defects; drive root-cause analysis and corrective action for production issues Required Qualifications 15 years of software development experience, including at least 3 years leading development teams or serving as technical lead Strong hands-on backend and API development skills (e.g., Python, Java, or Node.js), including REST API design and data persistence Experience developing and deploying cloud-native services on AWS Working command of CI/CD tooling, automated testing, and DevSecOps practices (SAST/DAST, dependency scanning) Track record of delivery in Agile/Scrum environments, including sprint leadership and stakeholder reporting Experience integrating with enterprise COTS platforms via APIs U.S. citizenship required; must be able to obtain and maintain a DOJ High-Risk Public Trust (Tier 4) background investigation Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field Preferred Qualifications Federal delivery experience, ideally with DOJ; familiarity with FedRAMP High environments and DOJ SDLC/Agile guidance Secure development in regulated environments (NIST 800-53, STIG hardening) Experience with event streaming, messaging, and high-volume data processing Familiarity with digital evidence, forensics, or eDiscovery platforms Certifications such as AWS Certified Developer/DevOps Engineer, Certified Scrum Master, or Security+