FLIGHT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TEAM LEAD

MCSG Technologies; Greenbelt (MD); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401(k) match

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

MCSG Technologies is seeking a Flight Software Development Team Lead (DTL) to oversee the ALICE instrument software lifecycle for NASA’s STRIVE mission at GSFC in Greenbelt, MD. The role blends leadership with hands-on software development in embedded real-time systems.

You will guide architecture, design, implementation, verification, and mission operations support, collaborating with NASA management and cross-disciplinary teams, while mentoring engineers and ensuring technical excellence.

Qualifications

• 20+ years of embedded real-time software experience.
• Experience across the complete software lifecycle for aerospace/spacecraft.
• Embedded flight software development for spacecraft or scientific instruments.
• Software integration with flight hardware and electronics.
• Experience with software configuration management (Git/GitLab/Subversion).
• Familiarity with Linux development environments and embedded OSs.
• Strong written and verbal communication; leadership in multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the ALICE Flight Software Development Team through the full mission lifecycle.
• Develop, integrate, verify, and deliver embedded flight software for the STRIVE instrument.
• Lead architecture, design, and requirements decomposition; drive implementation.
• Coordinate across systems engineering, hardware, and operations teams.
• Mentor engineers and drive process improvements in software practices.

Skills

Leadership

Flight software

C/C++

Embedded systems

Linux

Python

Git/GitLab/Subversion

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/CE/SE/EE/Physics

Tools

Git

GitLab

Subversion

RTEMS

VxWorks

Python

Job description

JOB SUMMARY:

The NASA Software Engineering Services III (SES-III) contract provides engineering expertise supporting the development, integration, testing, deployment, and sustainment of NASA flight software systems. MVS is seeking a Flight Software Development Team Lead (DTL) - Chief to lead the development of flight software for the Advanced Limb Infrared Chemistry Experiment (ALICE) supporting NASA's Stratosphere-Troposphere Research via Innovative Viewing Experiments (STRIVE) mission at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland.

STRIVE is NASA's next-generation Earth Science mission designed to improve understanding of atmospheric processes, including stratosphere-troposphere interactions and their impact on ozone, weather, climate, and air quality. The ALICE instrument provides advanced infrared limb observations of atmospheric temperature, ozone, trace gases, aerosols, and clouds with unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity.

The Development Team Lead (DTL) will provide hands-on technical leadership for the complete flight software lifecycle supporting the ALICE instrument, including mission formulation, requirements development, architecture, software implementation, verification, integration, environmental testing, launch support, and mission operations. This position serves as the primary technical lead for the software development team while collaborating closely with NASA management, Principal Investigators, systems engineers, instrument engineers, integration and test teams, and mission operations personnel.

Location: Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD. This is a hybrid position.

PRIMARY DUTIES

• Lead the technical execution of the ALICE Flight Software Development Team throughout the complete mission lifecycle.
• Develop, analyze, design, implement, integrate, verify, validate, and deliver embedded flight software supporting the ALICE science instrument.
• Lead software architecture, technical design, requirements decomposition, and software implementation activities.
• Develop real-time embedded software supporting instrument command and control, telemetry, health and safety monitoring, fault management, science data acquisition, and spacecraft interfaces.
• Coordinate software development activities across multidisciplinary engineering teams including systems, hardware, instrument, integration & test, and mission operations.
• Conduct software design reviews, code reviews, technical interchange meetings, and peer reviews.
• Support instrument integration, environmental testing, observatory integration, launch preparation, and post-launch mission operations.
• Identify technical risks, develop mitigation strategies, and resolve complex software and system integration issues.
• Support continuous improvement of software engineering processes, development workflows, automated testing, and configuration management.
• Mentor software engineers and foster technical excellence across the development team.

REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstrated experience leading software development teams for complex aerospace, spacecraft, or embedded systems.
• Extensive experience across the complete software engineering lifecycle including mission formulation, requirements development, software architecture, detailed design, implementation, integration, verification & validation, acceptance testing, and mission operations support.
• Experience developing embedded flight software for spacecraft or scientific instruments.
• Experience integrating software with flight hardware and electronics.
• Experience with software configuration management using Git, GitLab, Subversion, or equivalent tools.
• Familiarity with Linux development environments and embedded operating systems.
• Excellent written, verbal, technical communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams while remaining an active software developer.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• NASA Flight Software development experience.
• Instrument Flight Software development experience.
• Earth Science mission experience.
• Experience supporting instrument integration and environmental testing.
• Experience with RTEMS and/or VxWorks.
• Experience with embedded Linux.
• Experience with SpaceWire, CCSDS protocols, or spacecraft communication interfaces.
• Experience with Python development and software automation.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks.
• Experience participating in SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and FRR.
• Experience supporting launch and on-orbit mission operations.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:

20+ years of experience developing embedded real-time software using C/C++.

EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

SECURITY CLEARANCE:

Must be a U.S. Citizen and eligible to obtain the required National Agency Check (NAC) clearance

ABOUT US:

At MCSG Technologies, we believe the path to success begins by empowering our employees to do what is best for our customers. This helps create value for our customers and business partners through efficiencies and cost-effective relationships that are built on trust, while delivering on-time and within budget. Our company ethos is simple Empowered to serve our customers, our communities, our colleagues. If you would like to learn more, please visit our website at www.mcsgtech.com or find us on Glassdoor.

BENEFITS OFFERED:

Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, EAP, parental leave, paid time off, holidays and more. Learn more about MCSG Technologies benefits: https://www.mcsgtech.com/benefits/.

COLORADO'S EQUAL PAY ACT:

In compliance with Colorados Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; MCSG Technologies considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate's work experience, education/training, and key skills.

EOE STATEMENT:

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

PAY TRANSPARENCY NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISION:

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractors legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)