ASCEND Aerospace & Technology, LLC (ASCEND) is an All-Small Mentor-Protégé Program (ASMPP) Joint Venture (JV) between Aerodyne Industries, LLC and Amentum Technology Inc., that leverages our 12+ year collaboration as award-winning NASA contractors. Through our ASCEND partner companies, we have 62+ years of experience working for NASA and currently manage 5,500 employees across nine NASA Centers. With this foundation of expertise, we are dedicated to helping every mission succeed—today and into the future.
Job Description
The Contract for Organizing Spaceflight Mission Operations and Systems (COSMOS), NASA’s next-generation mission operations contract, has an excellent opportunity for a System Test Engineer to join the team of testers responsible for testing the baseline software releases used in NASA Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center (MCC). In particular, the successful candidate will develop testing capabilities within the test team for testing of the MCC Trajectory Services (MTS). The applicant will work in a dynamic team environment and will be responsible for working with the NASA customer, users, software engineers, and commercial and international partners to capture and understand system requirements, operations concepts, and develop test plans and procedures for execution. Travel required 1–2 times per year, typically lasting several days per trip. COSMOS ensures the continuity of critical human spaceflight support by providing mission control services, advanced training systems, and full-scale spacecraft mockups for astronaut preparation and engineering analysis.
Description of Duties
The MTS System Test Engineer is responsible for working in a dynamic team environment and will be responsible for working with the NASA customer, other systems engineers, users, and software engineers to test the MCC Trajectory Services (MTS) software. The candidate will perform patch testing, system release testing, procedure and document reviews, as well as, participate in the decomposition of system architecture requirements and development of test procedures to verify those requirements, and plan test objectives for test runs. The candidate should have a good understanding of the full software development life cycle from planning, design, building, testing, deployment and maintenance.
Successful candidates will:
- Be curious and willing to learn
- Decompose system architecture requirements and developing test procedures to verify those
requirements, as well as, plan test objectives for test runs
- Develop test plans to support detailed test procedures
- Execute test procedures, and documenting actual test results against expected results
- Perform systems requirements analysis, functional analysis, timeline analysis, requirements allocation,
and interface definition
- Perform technical management and integration tasks
- Develop new automated and manual test plans
- Make improvements and suggestions to advance overall system test capabilities
- Participate in peer reviews of test products to ensure quality results (Quality assurance)
- Perform script creation and maintenance, as well as process improvement/automation
- Possess strong team-building skills across multi-functional areas that establish a collaborative operational structure including active listening, prompt service and follow-up
- Exhibit proven track record of working under tight deadlines
- Have a high degree of self-motivation and the ability to work independently
- Have a keen attention to detail/be detail-oriented
- Have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
- Exhibit professional behavior that promotes teamwork, fosters cooperation, and enhances productivity in the workplace.
- Be well organized with the ability to coordinate, prioritize and execute multiple tasks simultaneously in a high-pressure environment.
Job Requirements
Must have one of the following combinations of education and experience: Bachelor’s/Master’s degree and 2 to 5 years of general experience.
- Preferred candidates will hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics, or other related fields, Physics, Math or equivalent experience with 0 – 2 years of direct experience in orbital mechanics software testing
- Must have previous experience with scripting and/or automation
- Must have previous experience with the SDLC
- Strong coordination and communication skills, both oral and written
- Capability to support schedules and meet deadlines
- Ability to work as part of a team or as an individual contributor
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Be able to work a flexible and dynamic work schedule
- Test events frequently require 8+ hours
- Test events occasionally scheduled for night and weekend shifts due to availability of MCCS and/or lab resources
- Strong initiative, teamwork and problem-solving skills
- Ability to plan, maintain schedules, and push to meet deadlines
- Good understanding of Linux, JAVA, C#, Windows and Windows applications
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and professionally represent the program
- Highly motivated individual willing to learn and apply new concepts, tools, and software
- Good problem solving and analytical skills; detail-oriented
- Must be able to obtain a NASA Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Badge for NASA credentials
The individual should possess strong initiative, be a team player (teamwork), be flexible to changing program needs, and possess strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills. The job requires close communication and collaboration with other engineers, the software development community and members of the user community to successfully perform analysis and test preparation. The successful candidate will be a self-learner, curious and familiar with SW engineering; will be detail oriented and have clear concise communication (able to explain technical concepts and test status up and out). To be successful, the candidate shall have the ability to work towards deadlines and deliver quality products.
Desired Requirements
- Experience with Office 365 Tools
- Understanding of orbital mechanics is a plus
- Test documentation experience
- Previous experience with automation, Git, and Python
- Familiarity with scripting languages and tools
- Operational experience with software testing
- Familiarity with Requirements verification methodologies
- Familiarity with Service Now
- Leadership skills
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or other legally protected status.
Final compensation is determined through a comprehensive evaluation of several key factors, including the candidate’s educational background, specialized technical expertise, and relevant professional experience. We also consider internal equity, prevailing market data, and specific contractual or funding requirements to ensure competitive and equitable offer alignment.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree with 2 to 5 years of general experience
- Previous scripting and/or automation experience
- Previous software development life cycle experience
- Strong oral and written communication and coordination skills
- Ability to support schedules, meet deadlines, and work independently or on a team
- Ability to work a flexible schedule, including occasional night and weekend shifts
- Good understanding of Linux, Java, C#, Windows, and Windows applications
- Strong troubleshooting, analytical, problem-solving, and teamwork skills
- Ability to obtain a NASA Personal Identity Verification badge
- Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics, Physics, Mathematics, or a related field
- Direct experience in orbital mechanics software testing
- Experience with Office 365 tools
- Test documentation experience
- Experience with automation, Git, and Python
- Familiarity with requirements verification methodologies
- Familiarity with ServiceNow
- Leadership skills
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What We Do
Aerodyne Industries is a Cape Canaveral-based engineering and information technology services firm supporting complex aerospace, defense, and government missions. Its capabilities include systems and software engineering, technology integration, cybersecurity, project and lifecycle management, and safety and quality engineering. The company supports NASA and other federal agencies across spaceflight, spacecraft systems, mission operations, and defense programs, providing specialized technical expertise and program execution.
