Solution Architect – Digital Thread (Ontology)

PeopleTec, Inc. • Huntsville, AL

21h • Onsite

About The Position

PeopleTec is hiring an Ontology Architect to design and govern the ontology ecosystem that anchors the digital thread for our Digital Test Environment. This role owns the linked-data foundation, the ontologies, triplestore, and validation logic that makes the digital thread an Authoritative Source of Truth across mission, system, and test layers.

Requirements

• 7+ years in systems engineering, knowledge representation, or digital engineering, with demonstrated ontology development on complex engineered systems.
• Hands-on expertise with OWL, RDF/RDFS, SPARQL, SHACL, and ontology editing in Protégé.
• Working knowledge of BFO and CCO (or equivalent top-level/mid-level ontology stacks).
• Experience with at least one triplestore (Stardog, GraphDB, Fuseki, or similar) and OWL reasoners.
• Working knowledge of MBSE in MagicDraw/Cameo and SysML, sufficient to align model elements with ontology classes.
• Programming proficiency in Python (preferred) for ontology tooling, SPARQL automation, and validation pipelines.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• An active DoD Secret clearance is required to perform this work. Candidates are required to have an active Secret clearance upon hire (or the able to obtain), and the ability to maintain this level of clearance during their employment.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience with IoIF, DEFII, or comparable semantic data broker implementations.
• Active U.S. DoD SECRET, TOP SECRET, or TS/SCI clearance.
• Familiarity with openCAESAR and the Ontological Modeling Language (OML).
• Familiarity with SysML v2 and its API/services.
• Familiarity with DoDI 5000.97, the DoD Digital Engineering Strategy, and ITAR/EAR.
• Ontology governance experience (OBO Foundry-style practices, FAIR data).
• Advanced degree in a related STEM field.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and govern the ontology stack (top-level, mid-level, and domain ontologies) in OWL, extending Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) and the Common Core Ontologies (CCO).
• Define the linked-data architecture: triplestore repository structure (e.g., Stardog or GraphDB), IRI/namespace conventions, ontology versioning, and import/dependency management.
• Establish the alignment between SysML model elements and ontology classes via stereotypes, tags, and metadata, supporting the Mission and System of Analysis (MSoA) and Assessment Flow Diagram (AFD) patterns.
• Build the Semantic System Verification Layer (SSVL): Open World (OWL/DL) reasoning, Closed World (SHACL) validation, and graph-based well-formedness checks.
• Author SPARQL queries and reasoning rules that drive Decision dashboards, Digital Thread Impact Analysis, and tradespace visualization.
• Define ontology governance — modeling conventions, vetting, reuse principles, and onboarding guidance for engineering teams.
• Partner with the Integration Architect and tool proxy developers to ensure ontology-aligned data exchange across MBSE, CAD/PLM, simulation, and test tools.

Benefits

• continuing-education opportunities
• robust training programs
• "People First" benefits package

What This Job Offers

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