Ground Software Engineer Level 4 Product Owner

United Launch Alliance•Centennial, CO

1d•$137,767 - $229,612•Onsite

About The Position

At ULA, we are expanding our ground software capabilities to support evolving launch system needs, mission operations, and enterprise‑wide integration. The Ground Software Engineer Product Owner 4 is responsible for defining, prioritizing, and validating ground software capabilities that support launch vehicle, pads, and mission integration operations. In this role, you will lead a cross‑functional agile team, drive end‑to‑end requirements development, and ensure software features align with system architecture, operational needs, and stakeholder expectations. You will collaborate daily with systems engineering, mission integration, avionics, GSE, and ground software teams to deliver high‑quality, mission‑ready software that fits cohesively within the broader launch system. This role blends technical leadership, systems‑engineering rigor, and product strategy to mature and deliver critical ground software capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field from an accredited college or university
Experience developing, validating, or supporting Real‑Time Linux‑based systems
Experience with timing‑critical hardware/software interactions
Experience authoring, executing, or reviewing IV&V plans
Background in object‑oriented design principles
Working knowledge of C, C++, and Python
Experience with software development best practices including: Git or similar configuration management tools, CI/CD pipelines, Containerization, Release Deployments
Experience with systems engineering practices such as: Requirement development and decomposition, Interface definition and ICD interpretation, Traceability and acceptance criteria creation
Experience collaborating across hardware, software, and systems teams

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting or defining software control systems
Familiarity with DevSecOps pipelines and secure software practices
Technical leadership experience in an engineering environment
Experience presenting complex system/software architectures to internal and external stakeholders
Experience with requirements management tools (DOORS, Jama, JIRA, etc.)
Familiarity with chip, board, and network‑level communication protocols

Responsibilities

Lead an agile scrum team, acting as the voice of the customer and defining product vision, roadmap, and feature priorities for ground software products.
Develop clear, testable, system‑aligned software requirements that reflect operational needs and integrate seamlessly with vehicle, pad, and mission systems.
Ensure new features and capabilities fit within the broader system architecture by working closely with systems engineers, architects, and interface owners.
Oversee requirement decomposition, traceability, acceptance criteria, and validation planning throughout the development lifecycle.
Collaborate with system owners to ensure software behaviors, interfaces, timing constraints, and data flows correctly represent each system the software interacts with.
Partner with software developers in design discussions to ensure implementation approaches meet functional and system‑level requirements.
Lead backlog grooming, sprint planning, and release prioritization—balancing technical debt, mission need, and stakeholder inputs.
Review and approve verification results, user acceptance tests, and IV&V findings to ensure delivered software meets requirements and operational intent.
Drive cross‑team coordination to identify dependencies, integration needs, and gaps across GSW, avionics, GSE, and mission integration organizations.
Support documentation updates, configuration management, and compliance with standards relevant to ground software systems.