Data Acquisition Hardware Engineer- COSMOS 2012-025

Aerodyne Industries•Houston, TX

10d•Onsite

About The Position

ASCEND Aerospace & Technology, LLC is hiring an early- to mid-level Platform Hardware and Data Acquisition Engineer for the Contract for Organizing Spaceflight Mission Operations and Systems (COSMOS), NASA’s next-generation mission operations contract. The position is on-site at Johnson Space Center. COSMOS provides mission control services, advanced training systems, and full-scale spacecraft mockups for astronaut preparation and engineering analysis. The engineer will oversee installation, upgrades, and lifecycle management of hardware platforms and compute environments, and design, integrate, and sustain low-voltage control systems and data acquisition infrastructure. The role includes developing platform hardware and custom electronic assemblies; programming and integrating PLCs, single-board computers, and related interfaces; supporting hardware troubleshooting and vendor repairs; and collaborating with virtualization, storage, network, fabrication, assembly, and mechanical engineering teams. The engineer will also produce technical documentation, manage bills of materials and procurement requests, translate operational concepts and customer requirements into engineering designs, and provide technical status, schedule inputs, cost and labor estimates, and design presentations to management and NASA stakeholders. The role provides sustaining engineering support for mission-critical systems, including during occasional off-nominal operational windows.

Requirements

Bachelor or Master of Science degree.
Minimum of 3 years of general experience.
Ability to obtain a NASA Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Badge.
Direct experience in hardware platform development, circuit design, and system integration.
Experience in schematic capture and PCB layouts.
Solid foundation in analog and digital interfaces, power delivery, signal integrity, circuit protection, and high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, DDR, and Ethernet.
Hands-on experience designing DAQ systems, including analog/digital I/O and signal conditioning, and working with industrial communication protocols such as Modbus TCP/RTU, CAN, OPC UA, and EtherNet/IP.
Knowledge of embedded systems, firmware interaction, and low-level hardware/software integration.
Strong technical problem-solving and root-cause analysis skills, with the ability to work with minimal supervision.
Ability to bridge hardware, firmware, mechanical, and software domains in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team environment.
Effective verbal and written communication with technical teams, leadership, and external customer stakeholders.
Proactive approach to continuous learning, process improvement, and rigorous configuration management.
Flexibility to support implementation and mission-critical operational activities during occasional off-nominal hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Nice To Haves

Experience deploying and managing HPE Synergy infrastructure.
Strong background in enterprise compute architecture, PCIe topology, Fibre Channel SAN connectivity, and Ethernet networking.
Experience with electrical panel design, cabinet/rack integration, and custom cable harness fabrication and testing.
Working knowledge of IP-based voice/video architectures, audio distribution equipment, or GPS timing systems.
Experience coordinating small-batch fabrication, mechanical enclosure constraints such as thermal, ingress, and mounting requirements, and Design for Manufacturing/Assembly (DFM/DFA).
Prior experience supporting NASA/JSC facilities, Mission Control Center platform systems, flight control rooms, flight simulation/training facilities, avionics, compute infrastructure, or ruggedized control environments.
Direct familiarity with formal engineering change processes, readiness test protocols, and configuration management practices.

Responsibilities

Oversee installation, hardware upgrades, and lifecycle management for diverse hardware platforms and compute environments.
Perform root-cause analysis, hardware failure isolation, parts replacement, and vendor RMA coordination for mission platform hardware.
Collaborate with virtualization, storage, and network engineering teams to integrate platform hardware into secure, high-availability networks.
Design, develop, integrate, and sustain low-voltage control systems and data acquisition infrastructure.
Lead design, schematic capture, and component selection for platform hardware, custom electronic assemblies, and modular DAQ systems.
Architect, program, and integrate low-voltage control systems, PLCs, and single-board computers for test stands, fixtures, and platform consoles.
Develop and maintain technical documentation, including cabinet and console layouts, facility floor plans, wiring diagrams, cable running lists, and engineering instructions.
Manage bills of materials, component lifecycles, and procurement requests; coordinate with fabrication, assembly, and mechanical engineering vendors.
Translate operational concepts and customer requirements into engineering designs; provide technical status, schedule inputs, cost and labor estimates, and design presentations to management and NASA stakeholders.
Troubleshoot complex system anomalies, perform root-cause analysis, and provide sustaining engineering support for mission-critical systems during nominal and occasional off-nominal operational windows.