Software Engineer (Junior to Experienced) - ASL - Huntsville, AL - Open Rank

Overview:

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry.GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.
2. We strive for excellence.
3. We thrive on diversity.
4. We celebrate collaboration.
5. We champion innovation.
6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.
7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.
8. We act ethically.
9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Location

Huntsville, AL

Project/Unit Description

The Applied Systems Laboratory (ASL) Air and Missile Defense Systems (AMDS) Division of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is seeking a Software Engineer to become a member of a small, highly collaborative Agile team supporting critical Army Air and Missile Defense programs. Located in Huntsville, Alabama, ASL conducts world-class applied research in avionics modeling, simulation, analysis, testing, evaluation, and high-performance software development in support of government sponsors.

Job Purpose

The Software Engineer designs, develops, and tests software applications and products. Additionally, the Software Engineer manages software development teams, provides technical leadership, and establishes software development lifecycle practices and processes. The Software Engineer is proficient in programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, C, C++, C#, Ruby, Python, Scala, and Groovy. In this role, the Software Engineer requires extensive knowledge of programming languages, software development, computer operating systems, Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), DevOps, Application Programming Interface (API) development, container development, and distributed systems. The Software Engineer also applies engineering principles to software creation, manages production releases of software, performs code reviews, merges feature development branches, and analyzes and triages issues. The necessary skill areas for the Software Engineer include programming and coding, fundamentals of computer science, software design and architecture development, algorithms and data structures, information analysis, software debugging and testing, and working on development teams. The Software Engineer also works with sponsors to curate requirements, define sprint work items, set priorities for work backlogs, and organize development teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform software development, debugging, modification, enhancement, and documentation.
• Design, test, and develop computer software in order to meet program requirements.
• Develop and maintain kernel and user-level software and scripts.
• Contribute to research reports, presentations, white papers, and competitive proposals.
• Create and analyze network protocols.

Additional Responsibilities

• Design and develop software requirements for air and missile defense systems supporting current and next-generation platforms.
• Implement high-performance software solutions that meet stringent real-time and reliability requirements for operational defense systems.
• Develop and optimize containerized applications using Docker and Podman for deployment across diverse operational environments.
• Collaborate regularly with customers, users, and cross-functional team members throughout the product lifecycle to deliver quality solutions.
• Report development status, technical challenges, and results to Project Director and stakeholders.
• Provide ongoing engineering support, troubleshooting, and performance optimization for fielded products.
• Contribute to Agile development practices including sprint planning, code reviews, and continuous integration/deployment.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Strong proficiency in either:
  
  
  
  • C++, or other Object Oriented Programming (OOP) language such as Java, or similar, with focus on performance-critical code and optimization techniques.
  • Python, JavaScript, or similar, for tooling, automation, and application development.
  
  
  
  
• Strong coordination, organization, and technical communication abilities.
• Self-motivated with proven ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multi-tasking team environment.
• The candidate must be self-motivated, possess communication skills, and be capable of working in a multi-tasking team environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret Clearance.
• Demonstrated experience with Agile development methodologies and structured documentation practices.
• Proficiency with software development in Linux environments.
• Experience with air and missile defense systems such as IBCS (Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System), THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), or CAML (Common Autonomous Missile Launcher).
• Direct experience in the air and missile defense domain or related military systems.
• Proficiency with development tools: Jira, Confluence, GitLab, VS Code.
• Hands-on experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Podman) for application deployment and orchestration.
• Experience writing and optimizing high-performance, low-latency code for real-time or embedded systems.
• Knowledge of network communication protocols: TCP/IP, UDP, REST, and middleware technologies.
• Experience with Data Distribution Service (DDS) and Interface Definition Language (IDL) for distributed systems.
• Familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS) or deterministic software design patterns.
• Hands-on troubleshooting, debugging, and performance profiling of complex software systems.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and DevOps practices.
• Understanding of software security principles and secure coding practices for defense applications.

Travel Requirements

<10% travel

Education and Length of Experience

This position vacancy is an open-rank announcement. The final job offer will be dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with Research Faculty Extension Professional ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook

• 2 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Information Technology, or related field.
• 0 years of related experience with a Masters' degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Information Technology, or related field.

Please refer to our Research Faculty Technical Level Guidelines for minimum requirements at the higher levels.

U.S. Citizenship Requirements

Due to our research contracts with the U.S. federal government, candidates for this position must be U.S. Citizens.

Clearance Type Required

Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain an active security clearance.

Benefits at GTRI

Comprehensive information on currently offered GTRI benefits, including Health & Welfare, Retirement Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Time Off, and Professional Development, can be found through this link: https://benefits.hr.gatech.edu/.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia ("USG") and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

USG Core Values Statement

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.