Software Engineer (SWE), Level 1

Fort Meade, MD

Software Engineer (SWE) — Level 1

An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

👋🏼 Hey!

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us — you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult. 🖖🏼

🎯 What We Look For

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country's national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.

We ask that every new hire be able to:

Contribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time
Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities
Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right
Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company
Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together
Know and live our core values every single day

💡 About this Role

This is a hands-on software engineering role at the cutting edge of AI-driven systems — and if that excites you, keep reading. You'll be building and advancing a production-grade agentic platform designed to power intelligent, autonomous workflows in a complex operational environment. This isn't a research project or a proof of concept — this is real software that real analysts depend on, and your fingerprints will be all over it.

You'll work directly with cyber analysts to understand how they operate and where automation can make the biggest difference. From there, you'll translate those insights into agentic capabilities — skills, prompts, subagents — that are adaptive, context-aware, and built to scale. You'll integrate diverse data sources and external APIs using MCP tools, and you'll design and maintain real-time analytics pipelines that keep pace with demanding mission workflows. If you want to shape how intelligent agents operate, learn, and deliver impact, this is the role for you.

This position is located in Columbia, MD.

📋 Requirements

3 years of software development experience with strong Python proficiency, or 7 years of experience in lieu of a B.S. in a technical discipline
Hands-on experience building and maintaining production applications that serve hundreds to thousands of users
Solid understanding of AI development concepts, including prompt engineering, context management, structured outputs, and tool/function calling
Experience developing resilient, scalable stream processing applications using modern messaging and event-streaming platforms (e.g., Apache Kafka)
Experience leveraging AI coding assistants for code generation, refactoring, debugging, and automation

🌟 Preferred Skills

Experience with agentic workflows and multi-agent orchestration frameworks such as PydanticAI, LangGraph, or DeepAgents
Background in cybersecurity or familiarity with security operations workflows
Experience managing deployments in AWS Cloud with Kubernetes
GitLab CI/CD automation
Experience with retrieval systems, including RAG, vector databases, and semantic search
Experience analyzing cybersecurity-related datasets such as network traffic and OS events
Knowledge of end-to-end SIGINT collection and analysis systems
Experience with production CNO capabilities and operations

🏝️ Benefits at Bitwise

Top salaries because we're top performers
Pick your PTO — Everyone values time and money differently, so we give you the flexibility to choose between 3 and 5 weeks of PTO with a corresponding adjustment to your pay. Your choice, your balance.
All 11 federal holidays, paid!
Up to 2 snow days, paid!
We'll quadruple (4x!) the first 6% you contribute to your 401(k), giving you up to a 24% company match. Contributing less than 6%? Unclaimed matches come right back to you as extra income, giving you a guaranteed 24% that goes to your retirement, to your paycheck, or both. C'mon now! 🚀
100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. That's a lot. Already covered on health insurance? No problem — we'll trade you this benefit for a boost to your salary instead.
$5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments.
Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go "Hot damn!". We hope to say that many times about you. 🔥

💰 Salary Range

$197,500 – $232,500

This range includes our flex income and depends upon your annual work hours.

Salary is determined on an individual basis following the interview process and considering various factors such as years of experience, skills, education, and certifications.

🛎️ What to Expect After Applying

You'll get an email from us right away to acknowledge your application. After that, we'll:

Send over additional company materials for you to review
Schedule a video call to talk about you, our company, and your place in it
Craft a delightful offer package for you and record a video walkthrough
Work closely with you through onboarding. We'll keep it joyful and easy.

ℹ️ Disclaimers

Bitwise is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

Compensation for this position, including all compensation options, will be determined on an individual basis following the interview process.

If you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please reach out to us.