AP110 Principal Software Systems Engineer / Full-Stack Architect

Support•Greenbelt, MD

17h•Remote

About The Position

The NASA Astrophysics Science Division operates a set of ongoing space-based observatories and manages the Science Operations of these missions. Key among those responsibilities are the Guest Observer Facilities (GOFs) for each mission which enable the astrophysics community to propose new research for these missions. These Guest Observers are supported through a process that manages the proposal, peer-review, and grant-initiation lifecycle for multiple astrophysics missions including NuSTAR, NICER, XRISM, IXPE, TESS, XMM, Fermi and Swift. The GOF Modernization Project will design and deliver a unified, multi-mission software system that streamlines the full proposal, review, grant workflow: proposal submission, reviewer recruitment and expertise matching, conflict detection, panel definition, evaluation, programmatic decisions, document and report generation, and grants-package preparation. The system must serve many distinct user types (GOF leads and staff, Principal Investigators, proposers, reviewers, reviewer selectors, award recipients, and NASA Headquarters) each with tailored interfaces and responsibilities. The system must secure sensitive (CUI), multi-mission databases deployed in the cloud. This is a government-funded effort with a startup-like mandate: deliver a working prototype by December 2026 , then iterate rapidly toward a production system. We are looking for a builder-leader who can architect the system, write the core of it, and grow a small team around it. The Principal Software Systems Engineer / Full-Stack Architect is the technical owner of the GOF modernization prototype. You will be responsible for designing, building, and deploying the system end to end across front-end, back-end, database, cloud infrastructure, user-experience, and applied-AI layers. This is a hands-on, builder-first role. You will personally architect and write the core of the system, while leading up to two developers and retaining the institutional knowledge needed to carry the system into maintenance and production. You will work closely with a small group of internal NASA scientist customers and stakeholders to gather requirements and set priorities, and you will incorporate critical feedback from a broader group of roughly a dozen external mission and stakeholder representatives. Because the goal is a fast, credible prototype for a specialized user base, we value pragmatic engineering judgment, the ability to leverage existing components, and a track record of shipping.

Requirements

US Citizenship or Permanent Residency (LPR) required, with US residency for the past 3 consecutive years.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Tier 1 Investigation through NASA.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. (Advanced degree a plus.)
Approximately 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including senior or principal-level responsibility.
Demonstrated experience leading small software development teams as a hands-on technical lead.
Strong front-end development experience.
Strong core software development skills with depth across multiple languages and paradigms.
Proven experience designing and deploying multi-technology, full-stack systems end to end.
Hands-on experience with cloud technologies and deployment .
Experience handling sensitive information and PII .
Experience working with AI systems in production settings.
Experience with database management software .
Experience designing user-experience systems for distinct user roles.
Experience designing accessible web interfaces.
Track record of iterating on prototypes and bringing them to production.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with academic scientists or within a scientific research environment.
Experience with comparable proposal- or grant-management systems, such as Research.gov or NIH/NCBI proposal-management platforms (e.g., eRA Commons / ASSIST).
Experience deploying fast-to-market prototypes for niche or specialized user bases.
Experience integrating federated authentication / identity services such as ORCID, Login.gov, or STARRS/InCommon-style federations.
Advanced degree in Computer Science, Astronomy, a physical science, or a related field.
Familiarity with FedRAMP and/or AWS GovCloud (or comparable government-cloud) environments.
Familiarity with NIST SP 800-171 (CUI) and Privacy Act / PII obligations.
Demonstrated skill in performance optimization of web and data systems.

Responsibilities

System architecture and design. Define the overall architecture spanning front-end interfaces, back-end services, relational databases, cloud infrastructure, and applied-AI components. Make and document the technology choices; the stack is yours to select based on fit, maintainability, and speed-to-delivery.
Hands-on full-stack development. Personally build the core of the prototype: user-class specific front-end web interfaces, business logic, APIs, and data models.
Set engineering standards.
Cloud deployment. Stand up and operate the system in a cloud environment suitable for U.S. government workloads, with attention to security, cost, and reliability.
Data security and privacy. Design and operate the system to protect CUI and PII throughout, applying relevant federal frameworks (see Required Qualifications).
Applied AI. Incorporate AI/LLM capabilities where they add clear value. e.g. reviewer matching, conflict identification, document generation. This includes prompt design, agent/harness engineering, and management of token cost.
User experience and accessibility. Design intuitive, role-specific user experiences and accessible web interfaces for a non-technical, expert user base.
Performance optimization. Profile and tune the system to meet responsiveness and scale needs across submission, review, and reporting workloads.
Team leadership. Lead, mentor, and coordinate the work of up to two web developers; establish issue, test, and release-management practices; and serve as the durable source of institutional knowledge during build, transition, and maintenance.
Stakeholder collaboration. Partner with GOF scientists and the support office to translate requirements and feedback into prioritized, shippable increments, and communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to non-engineers.
Prototype-to-product iteration. Deliver the December 2026 prototype, then iterate based on user feedback to mature the system toward production.