Principal Innovation Engineer
$176,900–$332,400 year
On-siteReston, Virginia, United States
Job Summary
Identify, evaluate, and prototype new technologies to improve a globally deployed mission-critical platform for identity and mobility. Build working demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and pilot implementations to transition ideas into production-ready capabilities. Explore innovation across digital identity, biometrics, edge computing, resilient operations, and cloud-native modernization. Produce technical trade studies, architecture recommendations, and innovation briefings to support leadership and customer presentations. This hands-on senior role operates at the intersection of edge systems, cloud, and security within Parsons' Federal Solutions team.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in systems engineering, software engineering, platform engineering, or applied R&D
- Demonstrated experience turning emerging technology concepts into working prototypes or production capabilities
- Strong hands-on technical depth in several of the following: distributed software systems, cloud platforms, especially AWS, edge or embedded deployments, networking or hybrid connectivity, identity or security systems, biometrics or device/peripheral integration, observability or operational analytics
- Experience evaluating technology not only for technical merit, but for operational realism, reliability, security, supportability, and lifecycle fit
- Experience working in mission-critical, operational, public sector, regulated, or globally distributed environments
- Strong communication skills with the ability to present complex ideas clearly to both engineers and non-technical decision makers
Desired Qualifications
- Experience with identity verification, biometrics, access-control, document technologies, automated gate/peripheral systems, or related domains
- Experience designing solutions for remote, austere, power-constrained, or intermittently connected environments
- Experience with Java-based distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architectures
- Experience with AWS, Terraform, and hybrid edge/cloud architectures
- Familiarity with technologies such as MongoDB, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, RabbitMQ/Kafka, Grafana, ELK, HashiCorp Consul, Nomad, and Vault
- Experience with AI/ML-enabled analytics, computer vision, anomaly detection, or intelligent automation
- Experience engaging with vendors, standards bodies, industry forums, or customer technical demonstrations
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