Sr Engineer, Software

Position Summary: 

The Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to further develop data management components of a data science platform used to manage decades of NASA science data.  The successful candidate will bring data engineering (e.g. ETL, data pipelines), database modeling (both RDBMS and NoSQL) and software development expertise to an interdisciplinary team that develops and operates the NASA Life Science Portal (nlsp.nasa.gov), using an agile software development approach with multiple sprints leading the regular quarterly production releases.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Satisfy USRA's non-profit mission by making a distinctive impact through scientific and technical accomplishments in the assigned projects.
• Engage with NASA teams and partners on requirements development and systems design for the NASA Life Sciences Portal.
• Support NASA researchers with the development, management, and governance of the NASA Life Sciences Portal platform and data. 
• Develop pipelines to fetch, clean, transform and analyze diverse data sources.
• Interact with interdisciplinary teams to develop and execute research plans which include milestones, requirements, schedules, design & development activities, deliverables.
• Provide software development, integration, testing, and data analysis support to expand NASA Life Sciences Portal capabilities. 
• Support automated software build, testing and deployment into cloud environments.
• Provide technical leadership and conduct architectural and code reviews, ensuring adherence to best practices, standards, and effective software testing protocols.
• Develop software release documentation.
• Work effectively with others including functional staff for day-to-day operations and efforts to improve operational excellence.

Additional Responsibilities 

• Ensure the protection of NASA and USRA intellectual property, which includes submitting new technology disclosures and supporting patent applications.
• Ensure export control compliance related to ITAR/EAR regulations.
• Support efforts by USRA Management to ensure that USRA conducts its business operations in an effective, cost-competitive, and professional manner.
• Complete all trainings as scheduled.
• Other job-related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Education:

• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Data Science or a related discipline

Skills

• In-depth knowledge of software development cycle, object-oriented software design and development, inter-process and network communication 
• Excellent written communication skills along with strong organizational, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to think independently and strategically and assess solutions for short- and long-term goals.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively in an interdisciplinary team of scientists as well as independently.
• High-performance Java servlet-based web applications.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and its applications.
• Languages: NodeJS, JavaScript, Java, Python XSLT, HTML, CSS.
• Infrastructure: Ansible, Docker, AWS, Linux, Windows.
• Data stores: ElasticSearch, MongoDB, AWS S3, MySQL.
• Software: Apache, nginx, Alfresco Content Management System.

Desired Experience: 

• 8+ years of software development experience in Java, C/C++, JavaScript, Python.
• Expertise in Agile Development processes, software architecture and object-oriented design.
• Expertise with software development for cloud computing services and micro-services architecture.
• Expertise with DevOps, GitOps and CI/CD techniques.
• Demonstrated experience with the full software development lifecycle.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Background in Computer Science, Data Science or similar discipline. 
• Analytical and problem-solving skills for design, creation, and testing of custom software.
• Possess excellent written and oral communication skills with experience writing routine reports and correspondence and presenting to customers or employees. 
• Ability to work independently, effectively, and professionally in a team environment (co-workers, customers, and supervisors).
• Knowledge of data science and machine learning is a plus.
• Ability to write technical reports and peer reviewed publications is a plus.
• Model USRA’s core values:
• Passion (for science, technology, and education)
• Partnerships (with universities, governments, and the private sector) 
• Professionalism (through excellence, accountability, and respect for others)

Working Conditions: 

Work will be performed in an office (on-site or remote with project/supervisor approval) or computer lab environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, talk, or hear. Keyboarding for large time spans each day will be a significant part of this position. The employee may need to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

Travel:  

Employee must be willing and able to travel. Position may require infrequent business travel.

Salary range subject to Geographic location.