Job description

This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

Who we are:

Raft (https://TeamRaft.com) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in McLean, VA. Our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We’re looking for an experienced Product Lead to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers.

About the role:

This is an exciting opportunity for a Product Lead with experience in Agile methodologies, backlog management, and software development. You will be responsible for identifying key stakeholders, prioritizing product requirements, and supporting the development of AI/ML-driven search and retrieval solutions. Typical duties include backlog grooming, stakeholder coordination, roadmap planning, and facilitating engineering efforts to optimize product development. This position is contingent upon contract award.

What we are looking for:

5-7 years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or 3+ years of experience with a Master’s degree in Agile development, software engineering, or a related field.
Hands-on experience with Agile methodologies, including SCRUM and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
Strong ability to identify and balance stakeholder needs while synthesizing feature requests into actionable user stories.
Proven experience managing, grooming, and prioritizing SCRUM team backlogs.
Ability to coordinate and align product backlogs across development teams to maintain velocity.
Experience analyzing technical and business trade-offs and facilitating engineering efforts to meet aggressive timelines.
Knowledge of DevSecOps practices and CI/CD tooling.
Experience developing products integrating containerized environments.
Hands-on experience working with AI/ML and Big Data workloads in distributed computing environments(e.g., Apache Spark, Databricks).
Strong understanding of modern software architectures, including microservices and front-end frameworks.
Track record of active learning and creative problem-solving in software development.

Major Duties/Tasks:

Assist in planning, developing, testing, and documenting Search Portfolio products.
Apply business process improvement techniques to modernize projects, optimize acquisitions, and refine methodologies.
Support agency teams in managing milestones, goals, and deliverables for Search Portfolio products.
Coordinate technical efforts to support AI/ML-enabled indexing, search, and augmented retrieval of unstructured data.
Stay informed on the latest AI system architectures, DevSecOps trends, and software design patterns.
Develop strategic plans, roadmaps, and software design strategies.
Capture and document reference architectures and compliance standards.
Work with mission teams to engage potential DoD customers, identifying and evaluating prospective projects.

Clearance Requirements:

Active Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility

Work Type:

Remote with a preference for greater DC Metro area
May require up to 10% travel

Salary Range:

$100,000 - $150,000
The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities

What we will offer you:

Highly competitive salary
Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
401(k) and company match
Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
Education & training benefits
Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs
Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work
Remote, hybrid, and flexible work options
Team off-site in fun places!
Generous Referral Bonuses
And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.

Raft’s core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are. We support our “nadi” by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

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