Software Engineer Group Lead, Common Domain Software

Associated Universities Inc. • Charlottesville, VA

8d • $123,000 - $154,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

At NRAO, we are recruiting a full-time Software Engineering Group Lead to provide technical leadership, planning, and management for software products and shared software infrastructure that support radio astronomy data acquisition, data movement, processing, and analysis. The group, known as the Common Domain Software Group, will be responsible for developing and maintaining reusable software capabilities, common services, integration patterns, and infrastructure components that can be applied across multiple NRAO systems and projects.
The Software Engineering Group Lead will guide short- and long-term planning, coordinate development activities, and help establish engineering practices that improve interoperability, reliability, maintainability, and operational effectiveness. The role includes leading work related to shared software models, system integration, messaging and communication mechanisms, data transport, workflow support, data repositories, service interfaces, deployment approaches, and other software infrastructure needed to support distributed scientific computing environments.
The Common Domain Software Group is also responsible for frontline support of existing telescope operations and for the timely and appropriate resolution of real time issues that impede scientific operations at all NRAO sites. In support of operational responsibilities, this group will work to enhance diagnostic and monitoring tools and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to maintain operational performance. The combination of operations and common software under a single Common Domain Software Group Lead allows for the development of foundational software that is efficient and reliable in operations.
This position requires close collaboration with scientists, software engineers, systems engineers, operations staff, and project stakeholders to ensure that common software infrastructure is aligned with current operational needs and future observatory capabilities. The group will help identify opportunities to standardize reusable components, reduce duplication, improve system consistency, and support the evolution of NRAO software systems over time.
This position can be based at any of our NRAO locations, including Albuquerque, NM, Socorro, NM, Charlottesville, VA, or Green Bank, WV. For well-qualified candidates, a remote work arrangement may be considered.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, physics, astronomy, or related field.
• At least seven years of experience in software development.
• At least three or more years of experience managing a software team of three or more people.
• Prior experience in computing data transport and systems communications design and concepts.
• Strong interpersonal and group communications skills, oral and written.
• Familiarity with a wide variety of technologies, such as Java, C, C++, Python, testing frameworks, threading, parallelization.
• Ability to translate science requirements into software requirements.
• Understanding of software architecture and the implications it has for development.
• Strong leadership and delegation capabilities.
• Ability to maintain and develop productive collaborations across organizations, anticipate and mitigate political and technical issues.
• Ability to establish firm, professional, and respectful interactions with staff and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated strong initiative in refining and clarifying requirements, defining and implementing QA processes, plan definition and monitoring, defining technical direction, and facilitating alignment.
• Ability to learn new areas and apply learning.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving abilities.
• Familiarity with project management concepts and techniques.
• Demonstrated experience leading software development groups, preferably within the domain of astronomy.
• Experience in leading a distributed team of developers.
• Familiarity with management, planning, and reporting aspects.
• Ability to formulate a long-term direction.
• Experience balancing the maintenance, improvement, and enhancement of operational software.
• Planning skills and appropriate management of a team of expert developers and scientists.
• Competency and experience dealing with the development process from requirements gathering, to development, testing and the formalism needed to achieve an orderly process.
• Ability to build strong and productive relationships with stakeholders who have complex and sometimes conflicting requirements, such as scientists, development partners, and operations organizations.
• Strong decision-making, consensus building, and communication skills.
• Observatory employees must be authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Overall personnel and technical management of software teams responsible for standardized data repositories, system communications, data transport, and frontline 24x7 operational support and integration.
• Regular reporting on management status and compliance with deadlines to senior management at NRAO and other participating organizations.
• Presenting status to other stakeholders or advisory bodies in formal or informal reviews.
• Building and maintaining a culture of trust, mutual collaboration, accountability, and excellence within the Common Domain Software group and with its stakeholders.
• Seeking to increase the technical diversity and expertise of the group through robust recruiting and onboarding practices.
• Professional development for existing staff and succession planning.
• Ensuring a professional working environment and efficient work processes are maintained through direct line management of staff.
• Reviewing timesheets and periodic performance reviews, including interacting with the Human Resources and Business departments of the Observatory when necessary.
• Proactive compliance with NRAO and government safety policies and procedures in own work area.
• Coordinating and advising on personnel matters, ensuring compliance with applicable policies such as affirmative action.
• Advising staff on planning, technical, and operational matters, instructing and orienting new employees as necessary.
• Interpreting, implementing, developing and/or recommending changes to rules, regulations, policies and procedures set forth by the Observatory.
• Oversight of all aspects of the lifecycle of software for which the group is responsible, including: Gathering of requirements, planning development, assigning tasks, tracking progress, coordinating integration, testing, acceptance, and release while fulfilling high standards of quality.
• Managing stakeholder relationships, establishing priorities based on stakeholder needs, and maintaining effective communications.
• Ensuring the delivery of high-quality software products by the team that meets stakeholder expectations and schedules.
• Developing the software infrastructure.
• Guiding the integration of software components.
• Maintaining a consistent view and quality of implementation across all of the software.
• Approving technical direction within the team.
• Interacting with a team of expert developers and improving on present practices whenever and wherever appropriate.

Benefits

• Excellent paid time off (13 holidays, annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days)
• Medical, dental and vision plans are effective on the first day of employment.
• AUI’s retirement benefit contributes an amount equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant’s base pay with no required employee contribution.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager