Software Engineer

Penn State University • Benner Township, PA

17h • Onsite

About The Position

The Systems Engineering & Rapid Prototyping Division within the Materials, Manufacturing and Sustainment Office (MMSO) of the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University is searching for a talented, experienced, and highly motivated Software Engineer. You will assist ARL in providing customers with state of the art user experiences in web-based and desktop applications to support data visualization and engineering decision support systems, as well as algorithm development, that provides and analyzes the data for these dashboards. You will also collaborate with our data analytics faculty and staff engineers and software teams to design and improve custom applications and tools. The software developed typically culminates in operational concept demonstrations, followed by transitioning products to DoD program managers and industrial contractors to deploy and implement.
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
You will:
Develop front-end and back-end web services including all aspects of server, client, and web components
Develop unique algorithmic and implementation solutions to a wide array of sponsor requirements
Work with users to analyze their requirements; evaluate new tools and technologies to enhance performance
Collaborate with other staff, students, and sponsors to solve challenging problems
Work with DoD sponsors to gather requirements and implementation details
Execute tasking within an Agile development process
Keep current with relevant emerging technologies and trends by attending conferences and workshops relevant to department and project goal
Additional duties of a higher level will include:
Integrate more complex elements and technological advances into work assignments
Develop concepts and methods to use in the design of systems
Lead portions of large tasks or projects

Requirements

• Software debugging and issue resolution using a variety of development languages, particularly Java and Python
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Previous success with collaborations in a diverse, multi-disciplinary, team-oriented culture
• Past success in providing ideas in written form for clear comprehension to an audience
• Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
• 2+ years of relevant experience
• None
• Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
• No prior relevant work experience required
• None
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.
• Employment with the ARL will require successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen.

Nice To Haves

• Agile Software Development methodologies
• Simulation development
• Container technology such as Docker or Podman
• Strong understanding of cyber security in software development
• Design patterns such as dependency injection and singleton
• Frontend experience: Client-side scripting and JavaScript libraries and frameworks, including Angular (Typescript); understanding and experience in web markup languages including HTML, CSS, and SCSS
• Backend experience: Spring (Java) or Django (Python), databases, both relational and non-relational, and migration tools such as Flyway
• Micro-service Architecture
• Managing and utilizing a DevSecOps pipeline
• Unit testing (Junit, Mockito, unittest, Jest, Mocha)
• Static Code Analysis Tools (SonarQube, Fortify)
• Linters
• Vulnerability Assessment Tools (Nessus, OpenVAS)
• Software Supply Chain Security Tools (OWASP Dependency-Check, JFrog XRay)
• High Performance Computing (HPC)
• Parallel programming
• Version control systems such as Git
• Package managers such as NPM, maven, pip
• Cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility, if required.

Responsibilities

• Develop front-end and back-end web services including all aspects of server, client, and web components
• Develop unique algorithmic and implementation solutions to a wide array of sponsor requirements
• Work with users to analyze their requirements; evaluate new tools and technologies to enhance performance
• Collaborate with other staff, students, and sponsors to solve challenging problems
• Work with DoD sponsors to gather requirements and implementation details
• Execute tasking within an Agile development process
• Keep current with relevant emerging technologies and trends by attending conferences and workshops relevant to department and project goal
• Integrate more complex elements and technological advances into work assignments
• Develop concepts and methods to use in the design of systems
• Lead portions of large tasks or projects

Benefits

• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.
• In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time.
• One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

What This Job Offers

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