Principal Innovation Engineer

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next! At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.

Job Description:

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Principal Innovation Engineer to join our team!

In this role, you will lead applied innovation for a mission-critical global identity and mobility platform operating across remote and austere locations, high-throughput facilities, and cloud-forward environments.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Identify, evaluate, and prototype emerging technologies that improve a globally deployed mission-critical platform.
• Build working demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and pilot implementations for internal leadership, customers, and external stakeholders.
• Explore innovation across: Digital identity and verification Biometrics and contactless capture Edge computing and low-power deployments Resilient and offline-first operations Cloud-native modernization Analytics and AI-assisted workflows Automation and operator experience Secure peripherals and smart devices
• Assess commercial and open-source technologies for technical fit, maturity, operational value, security implications, and deployability.
• Design practical architectures for low-bandwidth, intermittently connected, power-constrained, environmentally challenging, and infrastructure-limited operating environments.
• Translate promising concepts into implementation roadmaps and fieldable capabilities.
• Produce technical trade studies, architecture recommendations, demonstration plans, and innovation briefings.
• Support technical presentations, showcases, and evaluations with customers, sponsors, partners, and industry stakeholders.
• Shape and manage an innovation pipeline from concept through prototype, demonstration, and operational adoption.

What Required Skills You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a related technical field or equivalent experience.
• 15+ years of experience in systems engineering, software engineering, platform engineering, applied research and development, or a related technical field.
• Demonstrated experience turning emerging technology concepts into working prototypes or production capabilities.
• Strong hands-on technical depth in several of the following areas:
  • Distributed software systems
  • Cloud platforms, particularly AWS Edge or embedded deployments
  • Networking and hybrid connectivity Identity and security systems
  • Biometrics and device or peripheral integration
  • Observability and operational analytics
• Experience evaluating technologies based on technical merit, operational realism, reliability, resilience, 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 technical concepts clearly to engineers, executives, customers, and other decision-makers.
• Active TS/SCI w/ Polygraph required

What Desired Skills You’ll Bring:

• Experience with identity verification, biometrics, access control, document technologies, automated gates, secure peripherals, 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 the following:
  • MongoDB
  • Elasticsearch or OpenSearch
  • RabbitMQ or Kafka or
  • Grafana or ELK
  • HashiCorp Consul, Nomad, or 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.
• Experience transitioning prototypes and proof-of-concepts into production-ready or field-deployable capabilities.

Security Clearance Requirement:

An active Top Secret SCI w/Polygraph security clearance is required for this position.​ This position is part of our Federal Solutions team. The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now. Salary Range: $176,900.00 - $332,400.00 We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle! Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status. We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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