Early Career Computer Scientist - Software Development Testing, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 102,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories is seeking software testing professionals to join a high‑performing team focused on system integration and testing for space missions. You will work on real‑time decision support ground systems, participate in automated and manual testing, and grow skills in test automation, verification, and system integration.

The role requires collaboration with multiple teams, experience in Python/Java/C++, and the ability to obtain a DOE security clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q and SCI clearance.
• Experience with software testing, automation, and test tools.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with architects, engineers, and testers to define requirements.
• Design, develop, and execute automated tests for space mission software.
• Create and maintain formal test procedures and release notes.

Skills

Python

Java

C++

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related

Tools

Confluence

Jira

Zephyr

CI/CD

Job description

About Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

About Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part‑time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World‑changing technologies. Life‑changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

• These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking Software Engineering professionals to join a high‑performing team focusing on system integration and testing for space missions. In this role, you will have opportunities to collaborate on the design, development, testing, and deployment of advanced real‑time decision support ground systems. Work will include both manual testing using formal test procedures and automated testing using in‑house developed automation test tools. You will work with experienced engineers and testers, receive mentoring, and progressively take on increasing responsibility while growing your skills in test automation, formal verification, and system integration.

On Any Given Day, You May Be Called To

• Collaborate with software architects, system engineers, developers, technical leads, customers, and end users to collect and analyze requirements
• Contribute to the design, development, and delivery of technology solutions that improve software quality
• Generate automated tests to verify system functionality
• Participate in testing to assess accuracy and performance of the systems
• Support formal test activities at multiple levels, from components to the enterprise system
• Contribute to research and development activities, including proposing improvements and new ideas
• Work within a team of system testers to perform requirements verification on a large, multi‑node, Linux‑based satellite ground system
• Contribute to the development of new testing strategies as the ground system is migrated to newer technologies, such as cloud computing and containerization
• Contribute to evaluating and adopting automated test strategies and tools
• Work with developers, systems engineers and other testers to write formal test procedures for requirements verification
• Perform manual testing using formal test procedures and run automated tests on a regular basis
• For both manual and automated testing, analyze results and report status; follow up on failed tests; write release notes for successful tests; and improve and extend test procedures as necessary
• Contribute to the extension of in‑house Python‑based automation test tools
• Contribute to the evaluation of new automated testing methods and tools as the system evolves to a new architecture
• Develop and apply testing skills to support user requirements for highly complex software/hardware applications
• Support customer‑facing formal test activities (e.g., test execution support, reporting, and follow‑up)

Due to the nature of this work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

Salary Range

$102,400 - $199,700

• Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Qualifications We Require

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform technical work.
• The ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q and SCI clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E Computer Science candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Computer Science or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Demonstrated software development skills and familiarity with modern software development practices and tools (e.g., Agile).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, and a passion to improve and expand technical skills.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• Ability to collaborate with cross‑functional teams to gather requirements
• Experience with design, development, and execution of software testing (automated and manual)
• Python, Java, or C++ programming experience
• Experience developing automated tests
• Experience using Confluence, Jira and Zephyr
• Experience using Agile Testing methodology
• Experience with Linux operating systems, associated shells such as BASH, TCSH, etc., common command‑line tools such as GREP, and file structure navigation
• Cloud technologies, containerization (OCI/Docker), and orchestration (Kubernetes)
• Experience working with large, established codebases (3.5M+ lines of code)
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and associated tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab/GitHub, Maven/Gradle, Docker)

About Our Team

Organization 06333 is responsible for system integration and testing of a large, complex satellite ground system which is being developed to support high consequence national security missions. Our development supports a range of applications and complexities, including remote sensing systems, satellite communications and control, distributed computing and analysis, and real‑time data collection, processing, exploitation and dissemination. Our team’s deep domain and technical experience, coupled with an operational mindset builds distinct and extraordinary capabilities for our nation and the people who put their lives on the line to protect it. We have expertise in R&D across many disciplines including large‑scale software engineering, computer science, and system engineering. We build this mission together in a culture of collaboration, open dialogue, and respect recognizing that strong outcomes come from strong teams.

Posting Duration

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre‑employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q‑level security clearance and SCI access, both of which require US citizenship. SCI access may also require a polygraph examination. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain these levels of access may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by the DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

Eeo

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements For MedPEDs

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug‑releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on‑site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Job ID: 699009

Job Family: RD

Regular/Temporary Position: R

Full/Part-Time Status: F