Senior Software Engineer for AI-Assisted Software Modernization

Company: Little Bear Labs, Inc Location: Remote (United States only)

Salary: $130,000 – $160,000 Employment Type: Full-time

Little Bear Labs partners with government agencies to modernize the software systems they rely on to serve the public — taking aging, mission-critical applications and bringing them into the modern era.

AI coding tools are central to how we work. Software modernization at the scale these systems demand — hundreds of thousands to millions of lines of legacy code — isn't something you tackle by hand anymore. Claude Code, Codex, and tools like them are how we read, understand, and rebuild these systems on realistic timelines. It's not a productivity boost we layer on top of traditional development; it's the core of our approach.

We're hiring a Senior Software Engineer to join our team working on a federal software modernization contract. The work involves taking older systems — written in languages like COBOL, C#, and other legacy stacks — and rebuilding them on modern platforms using Java and TypeScript. You'll be doing hands-on engineering alongside an established team: reading and understanding legacy code, mapping out its behavior, and shipping modern replacements.

If you're skeptical of AI coding tools or prefer to write everything by hand, this role isn't the right fit. We're looking for engineers who have already made these tools a core part of how they work and want to push further.

• Drive modernization work using AI coding tools as your primary workflow — prompting, reviewing, iterating, and shipping
• Read and analyze legacy code (COBOL, C#, and similar) to understand existing system behavior

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• Rebuild and migrate functionality onto modern stacks in Java and TypeScript
• Develop and refine prompting patterns, agent workflows, and review practices that make AI-assisted modernization reliable at scale
• Write and review production code, tests, and documentation
• Collaborate with teammates and stakeholders to ship solutions that match the originals' behavior

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Deep, daily experience with AI coding tools like Claude Code or Codex — you've shipped real production code with them, developed your own workflows, and have strong opinions about what works and what doesn't
• Strong hands-on experience with Java and TypeScript
• Comfort reading unfamiliar legacy code; prior exposure to COBOL, C#, or similar older stacks is a plus

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• Solid fundamentals: testing, code review, CI/CD, version control
• Clear written and verbal communication — especially important when your "pair programmer" is an AI agent

• U.S. citizenship is required due to federal contract requirements. This cannot be waived.
• Ability to pass a government background check

• Salary: $130,000 – $160,000, based on experience
• Fully remote within the U.S.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan (employee contributions only; no employer match)