Senior Software Developer

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU, and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

Who we are supporting

The NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for providing secure and effective communications and information technology (IT) services to NATO's member countries and its partners. The agency was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The NCIA provides a wide range of services, including:

• Cyber Security: The NCIA provides advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect NATO's communication networks and information systems against cyber threats.
• Command and Control Systems: The NCIA develops and maintains the systems used by NATO's military commanders to plan and execute operations.
• Satellite Communications: The NCIA provides satellite communications services to enable secure and reliable communications between NATO forces.
• Electronic Warfare: The NCIA provides electronic warfare services to support NATO's mission to detect, deny, and defeat threats to its communication networks.
• Information Management: The NCIA manages NATO's information technology infrastructure, including its databases, applications, and servers.

Overall, the NCIA plays a critical role in ensuring the security and effectiveness of NATO's communication and information technology capabilities.

The program

Assistance and Advisory Service (AAS)

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO’s principal C3 capability deliverer and CIS service provider. It provides, maintains and defends the NATO enterprise-wide information technology infrastructure to enable Allies to consult together under Article IV, and, when required, stand together in the face of attack under Article V.

To provide these critical services, in the modern evolving dynamic environment the NCI Agency needs to build and maintain high performance-engaged workforce. The NCI Agency workforce strategically consists of three major categorise's: NATO International Civilians (NIC)'s, Military (Mil), and Interim Workforce Consultants (IWC)'s. The IWCs are a critical part of the overall NCI Agency workforce and make up approximately 15 percent of the total workforce.

Role ID – 2026-0043

Role Background

NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), as the main ICT service provider in NATO, is the main technical entity providing subject matter expertise to support NATO Cyber and Digital Transformation (CDT) Branch’s Innovation Programmes of Work (PoW) and relevant activities in 2026. NCIA Chief Technology Office (CTO) is looking for a Contractor who will provide full-stack software development support to the PoW projects.

Role Duties and Responsibilities

• Support NCIA in the NATO Programmes of Work with CDT in the area of software development for digital innovation and technology applications.
• Develop advanced application capabilities for analysts, enabling the exploration, analysis, and synthesis of strategic foresight analysis data through complex, multi-step user experience workflows, including cross-article reasoning, topic engineering, source intelligence, and relevance assessment.
• Develop full-stack integrations with AI-enabled backend services, including the exposure of AI-driven analytical functions, retrieval mechanisms, and automated synthesis capabilities in a controlled and user-transparent manner.
• Apply sound software design principles to ensure transparent, auditable, and controllable analytical workflows, including clear traceability between inputs, sources, AI-assisted reasoning steps, and generated outputs, suitable for high-trust analytical and policy environments.
• Deliver deployment-ready solutions that are compatible with restricted and secure environments, including solutions subject to accreditation for NATO UNCLASSIFIED (NU) deployment, and capable of operating under governance, security, and operational constraints beyond standard commercial systems.

Essential Skills, Experience and Certifications

• Senior-level full stack development experience with at least 8 years of experience, covering: frontend and backend development, system architecture, integration, implementation and end-to-end ownership from design through deployment.
• Extensive knowledge in frontend (Vue.js, React, Astro) and backend frameworks (Python, FastAPI), including: Frontend application architecture and state management, backend API design, schema validation, and service orchestration.
• Proven experience integrating frontend applications with backend APIs and data services, including: high-volume data ingestion and querying, search, retrieval, and analytics- oriented backends, performance-aware UI–backend interaction patterns. The bidder must provide at least two project examples demonstrating the experience.
• Practical experience integrating AI and LLM-based services, including: LLM-powered analysis, synthesis, and content generation, retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) or hybrid retrieval approaches and deterministic, traceable, and auditable AI outputs suitable for policy and analytical use.
• Experience with designing and implementing analyst-facing workflows, with emphasis on: transparency of analytical results, traceability of sources, reasoning, and outputs, user control over inputs, filters, and relevance criteria.
• Experience working in analytical decision-support contexts or strategic foresight, including: Topic engineering and thematic analysis, source intelligence and relevance assessment, multi-source analytical synthesis.
• Ability to work independently at senior level, including: structuring complex systems from high-level requirements, translating abstract objectives into concrete technical deliverables and delivery constraints
• Experience with analytical platforms, such as strategic foresight analysis, emerging and disruptive technologies assessment, or decision-support tooling.
• Experience deploying solutions in restricted, controlled, or secure environments, including: separation of environments, controlled AI service integration, deployment constraints beyond standard commercial cloud setups
• Candidate must have the nationality of one of the NATO nations.

Language

• Excellent command of spoken and written English.

Working Location

• Offsite

Working Policy

• Remote

Travel

This Task Order requires travel, consisting of up to 3 visits to NCIA Brussels (one per quarter) for a maximum of one working day each visit. Travel dates will be planned during the Project Kick-off Meeting with NCIA Project Manager. The travel, lodging and associated expenses for travel are included in the price of the bid (NTE), such that the purchaser shall not be invoiced.

Extraordinary Travel (Purchaser Directed Travel) may be required to other NATO or non- ATO locations as necessary. In the event of such unforeseen meetings being called, the cost of all travel and subsistence will be addressed through a contract amendment.

Extraordinary Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of AAS+ Framework Contract. Such costs will be set as a separate PO line with a not to exceed value to cover and reimburse of actual expenses upon submissions of all receipts and invoices in line with NCIA processes.

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO Secret personal security clearance