Lead Software Engineer
Air
Pittsburgh, PA · Posted December 10, 2025
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Where Pittsburgh, PA ranks
Where Pittsburgh, PA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #2Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Northeast66 / 100 · of 26
- #3Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Northeast327 openings · of 52
- #3Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Mid-Atlantic65 / 100 · of 37
- #4Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Northeast154 jobs · of 36
- #4Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Mid-Atlantic154 jobs · of 47
- #4Cities hosting the most business conferences in the Northeast14 conferences · of 9
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 47 open lead software engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $161,500 to $192,500 and the median is $186,000.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Lead Software Engineer salaries by state · Check your own pay
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among software developers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for software developers: 29% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Skills this job asks for
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About the job
Company Description
Air is the leader in Enterprise Readiness. Our mission is to establish readiness as a real-time condition that is continuously achieved. Today, a dangerous Readiness Gap exists between what the front line needs and what is delivered. Our AI-native platform, Air Enterprise Readiness, aligns development, production, delivery, and sustainment into one coordinated execution system for government agencies and industrial suppliers. By revealing true capacity, exposing real constraints, coordinating resources, and executing at the speed of operational demands, the front line gets what it needs to succeed.
Job Description
We are seeking a skilled and dedicated Software Engineering Lead to join our Engineering team. As the Software Engineering Lead at Air, you will be essential to crafting and implementing the software engineering processes and implementations within AIr.
In order to do this job well, you must be obsessed with quality, and efficiency, and love working with diverse technologies. You have a strong understanding of software engineering design principles, as well as a strong technical prowess. Our ideal candidate is someone who is energized by building scalable technology to support the defense and intelligence communities.
This role is a full-time position located out of our office in Pittsburgh, PA.
This role may require up to 10% travel
Scope of Responsibilities
Lead software engineering efforts from ideation through implementation as well as the day-to-day of a small team containing both front-end and back-end software engineers
Lead Agile ceremonies for the software engineering team
Establish coding and testing best practices and standards for Engineers
Develop, test, and deploy modern software applications and new features
Oversee the quality of Engineers’ deliverables, such as coding, testing, debugging
Collaborate with Air's product team to turn business requirements into technical specifications
Regularly seek out innovation and continuous improvement, finding efficiency in all assigned tasks
Collaborate with data engineers, data scientists, QA engineers, and DevOps engineers to improve the overall quality and performance of the platform
Qualifications
U.S. Citizenship is required
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or a related technical field
Required Skills:
5 years of software development experience with an object-oriented programming language comparable to Java, C++, Python, C#, or Ruby
Hands-on experience with Spring Boot, Quarkus, or similar technologies
Knowledge of data structures, object-oriented design, algorithms, exception handling, and troubleshooting
Experience writing SQL and implementing database design
Desired Skills:
Current possession of a U.S. security clearance, or the ability to obtain one with our sponsorship
Experience in or exposure to the nuances of a startup or other entrepreneurial environment
Previously experienced working in a product organization
We firmly believe that past performance is the best indicator of future performance. If you thrive while building solutions to complex problems, are a self-starter, and are passionate about making an impact in global security, we’re eager to hear from you.
AIr is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law.