Software Engineer Jobs in Denver, CO

Observed government pay for the broader computer and mathematical occupational group in Denver sits around $129,100 median and $129,650 mean annually, with the 25th to 75th percentile band running from $95,160 to $161,420; recent sampled posted ranges center on about $120k to $178k, while Colorado's mean offered salary on new openings was about $118,076 with n=1,157.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 406 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $100,000 at the 25th percentile, $141,678 at the median and $170,000 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of November 10, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Denver is a workable but selective market for Software, IT & Cybersecurity: the metro unemployment rate was 4.6% in August 2026, while Colorado-wide software, IT & cybersecurity employment was down 1.9% year over year even as active postings were up 26.0%. That usually means openings exist, but employers are filtering harder and filling specific needs rather than hiring broadly. The opportunity set is real—more than 900 postings across more than 350 companies were observed over the last 90 days—but it is concentrated in defense, aerospace, platform/cloud, and senior-level roles. If you need fully remote or true entry-level roles, this market is tougher: about 5% of sampled postings were remote and only about 10% were entry-level.

Best positioned: Experienced engineers and security professionals who can work on-site or hybrid, show Python, C++, cloud, Kubernetes, or CI/CD depth, and fit defense or other regulated environments have the best odds.

Main caution: Do not mistake more openings for easy hiring: Colorado postings are up 26.0% while statewide category employment is still down 1.9% year over year, which points to selectivity rather than a broad rebound.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 457 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Blue Origin: 15 open roles
2. Lockheed Martin Corporation: 13 open roles
3. Amazon: 12 open roles
4. Sierra Nevada Corp: 11 open roles
5. Booz Allen: 10 open roles
6. Anduril Industries, Inc.: 9 open roles
7. BAE Systems, Inc: 9 open roles
8. Garmin: 8 open roles
9. Sierra Space Corporation: 8 open roles
10. CACI International: 7 open roles

Where the openings are

• Denver: 173
• Boulder: 51
• Aurora: 43
• Broomfield: 31
• Centennial: 25
• Littleton: 20
• Westminster: 15
• Louisville: 15

Work arrangement

on-site 313 (69%), hybrid 117 (26%), remote 24 (5%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is not spread evenly across Denver tech. In the recent sample, defense and space manufacturing accounted for about 30% of postings, aerospace & defense about 15%, software development about 15%, aviation and aerospace component manufacturing about 10%, and IT services and IT consulting about 10%. Named leaders included Lockheed Martin Corporation with more than 50 postings, Sierra Nevada Corp with more than 20, and Northrop Grumman with more than 20. That helps explain why the market feels selective. About 65% of postings were on-site, about 30% hybrid, and about 5% remote, while about 50% were senior and about 10% were lead+. CloudBees also opened a downtown Denver office as an engineering and product hiring hub, so product-software demand still exists, but the balance of evidence favors employers that need infrastructure, reliability, cybersecurity, and defense-adjacent engineering. The practical takeaway is to organize your search by employer type, not just title. A Python-and-Kubernetes profile lands differently in a defense contractor, a consulting firm, and a software vendor, and Denver currently rewards the first two more consistently than a remote-first generalist search.

• Defense, aerospace, and space systems (high): This is the clearest pool of opportunity, with about 45% of sampled demand tied to defense and aerospace-related industries and named activity from Lockheed Martin Corporation, Sierra Nevada Corp, and Northrop Grumman.
• Platform, cloud, and DevOps/SRE work (high): The local skill mix strongly favors production infrastructure skills such as Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, CI/CD, Git, and Python, and CloudBees' Denver hiring hub reinforces that product and platform work is still opening locally.
• Cybersecurity, GRC, and regulated-environment security (moderate): Security+ is the most commonly required certification in the local sample, and broader cyber demand is leaning toward AI, cloud, risk assessment, application security, and governance as compliance pressure rises.
• Fully remote generalist application development (limited): This lane exists, but it is the hardest path in the local sample because only about 5% of postings were remote and only about 10% were entry-level.

Where to focus: Focus first on on-site or hybrid senior platform, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and defense-adjacent engineering roles; treat remote generalist software roles as a secondary lane.

Roles worth searching next

• Systems engineer: Denver demand is unusually concentrated in defense and aerospace employers, so software people who can move into requirements, integration, test, or mission-systems work broaden their target list fast.
• Technical program manager: A senior-heavy market plus employer emphasis on communication and collaboration makes TPM a practical bridge for experienced engineers who already coordinate delivery across teams.
• GRC or IT risk analyst: Cyber demand is tilting toward risk assessment, application security, and governance as compliance obligations expand.
• Solutions engineer: Product-oriented hiring still exists through firms building local engineering hubs, and strong communication skill demand supports technical customer-facing roles.

What postings ask for

• Python (table_stakes | immediate): Python appeared in about 45% of sampled local postings, making it the clearest baseline language signal across software, automation, and security workflows. Who: Almost everyone in this category, especially software engineers, SRE/DevOps candidates, and security analysts who automate tasks.
• C++ (differentiator | immediate): C++ showed up in about 25% of local postings, which fits Denver's strong aerospace and defense mix better than a generic web-only profile does. Who: Engineers targeting embedded, systems, simulation, or mission-software work.
• Kubernetes, Docker, and CI/CD (premium | immediate): Kubernetes appeared in about 25% of sampled postings, while Docker and CI/CD each appeared in about 20%, signaling that employers want people who can ship and operate software, not just write it. Who: Mid-career developers, SRE/DevOps engineers, cloud engineers, and backend engineers trying to move up-market.
• AWS cloud depth (differentiator | near-term): AWS showed up in about 20% of local postings, and the current AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional update is explicitly validating cloud-native, GenAI/agentic AI, and resilience engineering skills. Who: Cloud engineers, senior developers, architects, and infrastructure candidates who need a clearer signal of production-scale cloud competence.
• Security+ (differentiator | near-term): Security+ was the most commonly required certification in the local sample, even if it appeared in only about 5% of postings; in practice, that means it helps most when a role explicitly screens for cyber baseline knowledge. Who: Entry-level IT/security candidates, career switchers, and infrastructure candidates moving toward cyber.
• AI-assisted development workflow and AI literacy (differentiator | immediate): AI literacy is increasingly treated as a real engineering skill, and 88.3% of surveyed organizations reported using AI-assisted tools daily or weekly in 2026. Who: Software engineers, QA engineers, and technical leads who need to show faster delivery without sacrificing review quality.

Questions about this market

What do Software, IT & Cybersecurity roles pay in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?

Observed government pay for the broader computer and mathematical occupational group in Denver sits around $129,100 median and $129,650 mean annually, with the 25th to 75th percentile band running from $95,160 to $161,420; recent sampled posted ranges center on about $120k to $178k, while Colorado's mean offered salary on new openings was about $118,076 with n=1,157. This is a high-paying market by U.S. standards: Denver's broad occupational median is above the national median of $109,280 for the same major occupation family.

Where is demand for Software, IT & Cybersecurity roles in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO concentrated?

Real opportunity is not spread evenly across Denver tech. In the recent sample, defense and space manufacturing accounted for about 30% of postings, aerospace & defense about 15%, software development about 15%, aviation and aerospace component manufacturing about 10%, and IT services and IT consulting about 10%. Named leaders included Lockheed Martin Corporation with more than 50 postings, Sierra Nevada Corp with more than 20, and Northrop Grumman with more than 20. That helps explain why the market feels selective. About 65% of postings were on-site, about 30% hybrid, and about 5% remote, while about 50% were senior and about 10% were lead+. CloudBees also opened a downtown Denver office as an engineering and product hiring hub, so product-software demand still exists, but the balance of evidence favors employers that need infrastructure, reliability, cybersecurity, and defense-adjacent engineering. The practical takeaway is to organize your search by employer type, not just title. A Python-and-Kubernetes profile lands differently in a defense contractor, a consulting firm, and a software vendor, and Denver currently rewards the first two more consistently than a remote-first generalist search.

Which employers are hiring the most Software, IT & Cybersecurity talent in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?

Recent postings show the most activity from Lockheed Martin Corporation (50 postings), Sierra Nevada Corp (20 postings), Northrop Grumman (20 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Software, IT & Cybersecurity roles in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 30% hybrid, with 65% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

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