Engineer Lead

Ad Hoc is a technology company that empowers organizations to deliver scalable, impactful digital services. Using modern, agile methods, our team creates products that meet people’s needs and transform their experience of government.

Our collaborations have shaped some of the defining moments in public-sector service delivery. We’ve helped build products that connect Veterans to tailored services, help millions access affordable health care, and support important programs like Head Start. As we work with agencies to deliver critical services, we’re also changing how the government approaches technology.

Our culture, communications, and tools are built for remote work, enabling us to bring together top talent nationwide. At Ad Hoc, remote life empowers our teams to design work environments that fit their lives and that foster flexibility and collaboration to achieve positive outcomes for our customers.

Ad Hoc values acceptance, accountability, and humility. We aren’t heroes. We learn from our mistakes and improve the process for the next time. We build small, inclusive teams to collaborate closely with our partners to solve the right problems and deliver software that works.

The Veterans Affairs business unit helps transform the VA into a modern digital services organization where Veteran outcomes are at the center of every effort. We partner with the VA to design and deliver seamless user experiences for Veterans, their families and caregivers, and VA employees. By applying better practices in service design, product management, and technology, we enable the VA to increase the use, quality, and reliability of services and decrease the time Veterans spend waiting for outcomes.

The Engineering Lead serves as a technical leader and people manager responsible for supporting successful software delivery while developing and mentoring engineering team members. Working closely with program and engineering leadership, you will help shape technical direction, guide engineering practices, and ensure teams are aligned with program scope, schedule, and delivery requirements.

In this role, you will lead through others by providing technical direction, coaching engineers, improving team processes, and partnering across disciplines to solve complex technical challenges. You will also be responsible for people management activities, including hiring, performance management, career development, timecard reviews, and PTO management.

• Partner with program and engineering leadership to help define technical direction and support successful program delivery
• Develop a strong understanding of program scope, schedule, cost, and contractual delivery requirements and communicate priorities clearly to engineering team members
• Provide technical leadership and direction across one or more engineering teams
• Guide technical decisions involving Java, Spring, APIs, microservices, and modern software architecture
• Coach, mentor, and develop engineers while establishing clear expectations and supporting individual growth and career development
• Manage employee performance, including regular feedback, performance reviews, development planning, and addressing performance concerns when necessary
• Support hiring, onboarding, team development, timecard reviews, and PTO management
• Lead and continuously improve engineering processes, identifying gaps and implementing practices that improve quality, collaboration, and delivery
• Partner with Product, Design, Program Management, and other stakeholders to evaluate technical solutions and clearly communicate tradeoffs, risks, and dependencies
• Translate complex technical challenges, architectural decisions, and engineering roadmaps for both technical and nontechnical audiences
• Create and present technical documentation, system designs, architecture decisions, program updates, delivery risks, and future engineering priorities
• Represent the engineering practice in discussions with program leadership, customers, and other stakeholders
• Participate in client-facing activities such as technical demonstrations, strategic planning, and technical discussions as needed
• Contribute to proposal development, technical solutioning, and bid-writing activities as needed
• Participate in candidate interviews and support the development and evaluation of technical assessments

• Bachelor’s degree and 9+ years of relevant software engineering experience
  • Relevant professional experience may be substituted for education
• Strong technical background in Java, Spring, APIs, and microservices architecture
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams, providing technical direction, and overseeing software delivery
• 2+ years of experience mentoring, coaching, or developing engineers
• Experience leading and coordinating engineering work to meet delivery objectives
• Extensive experience across the software development lifecycle, including software design, development, testing, deployment, and ongoing support
• Experience working directly with customers, clients, or program stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate technical concepts, decisions, risks, and tradeoffs to technical and nontechnical audiences
• Demonstrated ability to balance technical priorities with program and delivery requirements
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, now or in the future
• Must be able to successfully obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance

• Experience supporting federal government programs or working within a government contracting environment
• Understanding of federal government contracting requirements, regulations, and delivery expectations
• Experience leading engineering teams delivering digital services or modernizing legacy systems
• Experience working within cross-functional teams that include Engineering, Product, Design, and Program Management
• Experience contributing to technical proposals, solutioning, bid development, or client presentations
• Experience supporting technical planning and decision-making within programs operating against defined scope, schedule, cost, and contractual requirements