AMERICAN SYSTEMS is an employee-owned federal government contractor supporting national priority programs through our strategic solutions in Information Technology, Test & Evaluation, Engineering & Analysis, and Training.
An Acquisition Software Engineer is a key member of the software acquisition team, responsible for providing leadership and technical expertise throughout the software life cycle. This role involves everything from planning and development to the execution of all software engineering activities for various programs. Exhibits extensive knowledge of mission planning systems, system architecture, and software development methodologies.
ResponsibilitiesAs our next Software Engineer/Developer for NAVAIR, you'll collaborate with talented professionals to create innovative, mission-critical solutions that empower naval aviation and defense operations. Your expertise will help shape cutting-edge systems, enhance national security, and drive technological advancement for our nation.
- Development and Testing:
- Assists and provides guidance in defining software performance requirements and software design.
- Provides testing support and facilitates communications between development teams and the systems integration and testing entities.
- Manages software production backlog, prioritizing emerging needs with existing work in progress, resolution of bugs and incorporating enhancements.
- Captures and refines fleet feedback to drive future product development.
- Validates iterative software’s adherence to low-level requirements/acceptance criteria.
- Technical Expertise:
- Possesses extensive knowledge of software development environments and processes.
- Performs problem analysis during all phases of development and integration, with experience in trade space management.
- Has extensive knowledge of and experience implementing modern DevSecOps practices.
- Comfortable interacting with in-development software systems, maintaining familiarity with changes to products and their impacts to relevant customer/user communities.
- Specific Duties:
- Attends pertinent IPT and Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI) associated meetings.
- Reviews software acquisition documents.
- Coordinates review activities for documents pertaining to assigned CSCIs.
- Ensures the generation of pertinent risks, issues, and opportunities for pertinent CSCIs and supports the IPT in their maintenance.
- Attends and represents the software team at milestone software reviews as requested.
- Provides trip reports.
- Advises on software development and testing techniques.
- Performs software/design doc audits.
- Determines if delivered software is of adequate quality and adheres to software and cybersecurity best practices.
- Ensures development’s adherence to the CM plan.
- Assist the cost team in gathering software data for cost estimates.
- Ensure the team follows software risks and mitigation plans
- Assists in establishing and enforcing DevSecOps methodologies and practices within the developer teams.
- Provides system demonstrations to stakeholders and the development enterprise when required as new software capabilities are implemented.
- Coordinates with cyber, CI/CD, and fleet integration teams to develop, test, deploy and maintain a fieldable system.
- Decomposes high-level, fleet-derived capabilities into smaller, well-defined features. With fleet user and SME input, establishes acceptance criteria for derived work.
- Defines and tracks agile/development metrics, assisting the IPT in translating development metrics into reportable outcomes within the Software Acquisition Pathway.
Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university; or technical/scientific degree with software engineering experience on DoD program(s)
- Junior or Journey level experience working engineering activities for a technology program
- Must have a Secret clearance with ability to obtain a Top Secret if necessary.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Ability to travel within CONUS up to 6 times per year
- Local to Pax River, NAS and able to make scheduled and adhoc meetings in person.
Experience in any of the following areas is considered enhancing but is not required.
- Working software development and sustainment programs.
- Working DoD acquisition programs.
- Experience as a military aviator or serving in the Navy or Marine Corps
- Experience generating system requirements.
- Experience with DoD mission planning
- Producing and using Model Based Systems Engineering artifacts
- Agile or Agile SAFe processes
- Cyber and system security
- DevSecOps & modern software CI/CD pipelines
- Software technologies such as: Architectures, Networks, Mobile Platforms, Containerization
- Software safety, testing, accreditations
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, or a technical/scientific degree with software engineering experience on DoD programs
- Junior or journey-level experience working on engineering activities for a technology program
- Active Secret security clearance
- Ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance if necessary
- U.S. citizenship
- Ability to travel within CONUS up to six times per year
- Local to Pax River or NAS and able to attend scheduled and ad hoc meetings in person
- Experience working on software development and sustainment programs
- Experience working on DoD acquisition programs
- Experience as a military aviator or serving in the Navy or Marine Corps
- Experience generating system requirements
- Experience with DoD mission planning
- Experience producing and using Model-Based Systems Engineering artifacts
- Experience with Agile or Agile SAFe processes
- Experience with cyber and system security
- Experience with DevSecOps and modern software CI/CD pipelines
- Experience with software architectures, networks, mobile platforms, or containerization
- Experience with software safety, testing, or accreditations
What We Do
AMERICAN SYSTEMS is an employee-owned government services contractor that delivers professional, technical, information technology, engineering, analysis, testing, evaluation, and training solutions for complex national-priority programs. Based in McLean, Virginia, the company supports federal customers—particularly defense and other Department of Defense missions—with mission-essential and information engineering, digital engineering, systems integration, cybersecurity, cloud, data, and lifecycle IT services across critical public-sector environments.
