Flight Software Architect

Amentum•Houston, TX

About The Position

Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you! We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA’s pursuits in deep space exploration. As NASA’s largest engineering solutions provider working together with NASA at centers across the United States. We have an exciting opportunity for a Flight Software Architect to join the JETSII Contract. This position provides senior‑level technical leadership for defining the architecture of flight‑critical software supporting EVA and related spacecraft systems. The architect will translate mission objectives and system behaviors into software structures that support safety, autonomy, and robust command and control. The role involves engaging across engineering disciplines, guiding design decisions, and ensuring that implementation and verification follow rigorous standards throughout the program's lifecycle. This is a purely technical leadership role without direct personnel management responsibilities. We are actively searching for qualified candidates for this potential opening; however, we do not have assurance at this time when the position will be finalized and opened. Because we have strong reason to believe the position will be approved soon, we are proceeding with identifying qualified candidates and conducting interviews.

Requirements

Typically requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in Engineering and may be expected to have a related master's degree and normally possess 10-15 years of related experience.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
Approximately 15+ years of experience in building mission‑critical or safety‑critical software, ideally within aerospace environments.
Broad experience across real‑time embedded software development, including system analysis, low‑level design, integration, verification, qualification, and operational release.
Proven success delivering reliable software under fast‑changing program conditions and challenging deadlines.
Familiarity with automated build systems, continuous integration workflows, and configuration‑management best practices.
Experience working in Linux‑based development environments.
Experience working with embedded platforms (bare‑metal or RTOS‑based).
Strong competency in C/C++ / Python programming.
Demonstrated ability to design resilient system architectures that account for redundancy, failure modes, and high availability.
Experience supporting software development for aerospace or DOD defense programs.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of networking protocols including TCP/IP and UDP, with exposure to spacecraft communication standards preferred.
Experience with languages such as Rust for safety critical applications.
Experience with incorporation of AI technology in project processes for increased efficiency.

Responsibilities

Establish and refine flight software architectures that support deterministic, real‑time behavior for mission‑critical operations.
Work with multidisciplinary teams to define software requirements, design structures, and verification strategies, ensuring technical products meet safety and reliability expectations.
Oversee the creation of fault‑tolerant control software for autonomous systems, ensuring high reliability and resilience to off-nominal scenarios.
Coordinate software integration, support the generation and execution of unit tests, and validate system‑level behavior through Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HIL) methods prior to release.
Produce and maintain architectural documentation, including design packages and verification plans, while communicating progress, issues, and technical risks to leadership.
Apply agile planning and tracking approaches to help manage development cycles and align work with broader program milestones.
Perform additional tasks associated with flight software maturation as assigned.
Other duties as assigned.