Position Description Summary:
APT Research is hiring a
Software Assurance Engineer for our SMAS III contract. This position supports the ARES Safety and Mission Assurance Support (SMAS) III contract to provide onsite software safety assurance support for the NASA Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) Division at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). This work involves expertise and skills related to software safety engineering, hazard analyses, and software engineering process review with a focus on Commercial launch AFTU checks, WFF safety-critical software analysis updates, oversight of Wind Weighting and Balloons avionics development, and evaluation of control systems modifications.
Responsibilities:- Provide software assurance and safety engineering support for NASA mission and project software, with emphasis on safety-critical systems and Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) operations.
- Support multiple small projects with compliance verification, hazard analysis, and lifecycle oversight in accordance with NASA standards (NPR 7150.2, NASA-STD-8739.8) and Range Commanders Council (RCC) requirements.
- Software Assurance & Safety Analysis:
- Classify software and assess criticality using NASA engineering requirements (NPR 7150.2, NASA-STD-8739.8)
- Develop and maintain software assurance plans, hazard analyses, and risk assessments
- Perform requirements, design, and implementation analyses for safety-critical systems, including code coverage, complexity metrics, and static analysis verification
- Maintain bi-directional traceability between requirements, design, implementation, tests, and hazard analyses
- Verification & Validation:
- Conduct process audits for compliance with NASA and safety-critical software standards
- Analyze test plans, procedures, and verification activities; witness safety-critical tests
- Monitor product integration and confirm test sufficiency
- Track non-conformances, perform root cause analysis, and maintain risk/concern logs
- WFF Flight Safety Support:
- Maintain safety-critical software inventory and support commercial launch provider evaluations
- Review and assess RCC 319 document tailoring and compliance plans
- Participate in Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (AFTU) development and provide launch operations support
- Evaluate proposals for flight systems modifications and new developments
- Program Support:
- Participate in milestone and peer reviews representing software safety
- Collect and analyze software assurance metrics; report task progress
- Coordinate with government on project schedules and deliverables
Required Experience/Education:- Education: Bachelors degree in computer science or related
- Experience: A minimum of seven years of related experience
- Technical Knowledge: NASA software engineering standards and directives (NPR 7150.2, NASA-STD-8739.8, GSFC policies)
- Active DOD Clearance Required
- Software safety criticality assessment methodologies
- Hazard analysis techniques and risk assessment frameworks
- Software development lifecycle (SDLC) processes and best practices
- Core Competencies:
- Requirements analysis and traceability management
- Verification and validation (V&V) methodologies
- Process audit execution and compliance verification
- Code quality analysis (code coverage, cyclomatic complexity, static analysis)
- Safety-critical software identification and classification
- Analytical & Communication:
- Technical writing (software assurance plans, hazard analyses, audit reports, assessments)
- Metrics collection, trending, and analysis
- Stakeholder coordination and presentation skills
- Root cause analysis and problem-solving
- Multi-project coordination and prioritization
- Will need to complete training courses on Software Safety for Practitioners, Intermediate Software Reliability, Systems Safety Engineering, and Software Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis and Fault Tree Analysis as well as 392-WI-7150.4 Software auditor skills training in order to perform process audits
Preferred Experience:- Range Commanders Council (RCC) standards, particularly RCC 319 and Appendix A
- NASA Range Safety and Payload Safety requirements
- Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (AFTU) systems knowledge
- Flight safety systems and launch operations experience
- Commercial launch vehicle operations and oversight
- Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) activities
- Government project support and contracting environments
- Experience with safety-critical embedded systems
- Familiarity with Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) operations
- Experience with antenna control units, avionics systems, or flight termination systems
- Software architecture and detailed design analysis for mission-critical applications
- Prior participation in milestone reviews as software safety representative
Security Clearance Requirement:- Must have an active DOD clearance
Essential Job Functions:Work Environment:
- Full time, 40+ hours a week when required, including periodic extended shifts, weekends, holidays, and shift changes (1st, 2nd or 3rd as required).
- Work in excess of 40 hours a week (comp time, or OT when approved by CO) will be frequently required.
- Working in non-environmentally controlled areas.
- Working at heights (with fall protection) sometimes required.
- Working in confined spaces sometimes required.
Travel Requirements:
- May Require ability to travel domestically
Physical Requirements:
- Extended periods of standing, stooping, and bending are expected.
- Ability to climb stairs
- Ability to lift >15 lbs.
Other Essential Functions:- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, make rational decisions, and to exercise good judgement
- Work attire must be appropriate for the position and must not impose a safety risk / hazard to the employee or others
