Mid-level Software Quality Assurance Engineer

The Office of Space Weather Observations (SWO) under NESDIS is responsible for advancing space weather observational capabilities to meet NOAA programmatic needs. NOAA’s Space Weather Next (SWX) program maintains and extends space weather observations from various vantage points, selected to most efficiently provide comprehensive knowledge of the Sun and the near-Earth space environment needed to protect our technological infrastructure. 

 The Space Weather Ground Services (SWGS) is responsible for comprehensive ground services for all SWX projects, ensuring successful implementation and operation of observing assets and ensuring the continuity of space weather measurements made by SWFO-L1 and the GOES-R series satellites. 

 The SWGS Mission Operations Services (MOS) program must provide a full mission satellite command and control solution to support the L1 Series with two new independently launched observatories. 

Position Overview 

We are seeking a Lead Quality Assurance Engineer to serve as the primary authority for the QA across a new satellite ground system development program supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This senior-level role will lead all quality assurance activities throughout the full system lifecycle—from architecture and design through integration, accreditation, and operational deployment. 

Responsibilities 

Program Quality Leadership 

• Serve as the Quality Lead for the entire development program, with full responsibility for the program’s Quality Assurance strategy and execution. 

• Develop, implement, and maintain the Program Quality Management Plan aligned with corporate policies and contractual requirements. 

• Lead, mentor, and assign workload to a team of Quality Assurance professionals, monitoring progress and ensuring effective execution of quality activities. 

• Establish quality objectives, metrics, and reporting mechanisms to provide program leadership with clear insight into quality performance and risks. 

• Drive a culture of quality, accountability, and continuous improvement across the program. 

Development and Engineering Oversight 

• Ensure quality integration across software development, hardware development, and system integration activities. 

• Participate in and oversee all phases of system and software development, including: 

• Requirements analysis and traceability 

• Architecture and design reviews 

• Code and build quality practices 

• Verification and validation 

• Test readiness and execution 

• Documentation and configuration management 

• Ensure that all requirements are addressed and verified throughout the development lifecycle. 

Process Compliance and Governance 

• Ensure adherence to corporate quality processes, program procedures, and applicable industry standards. 

• Lead and conduct process and product evaluations (audits) to ensure compliance with project policies, procedures, and contractual requirements. 

• Establish and maintain the program’s process assets library, including: 

• Process definitions 

• Templates 

• Standard operating procedures 

• Quality artifacts 

• Interface with Corporate Quality leadership to ensure alignment with enterprise quality initiatives. 

Quality Monitoring, Metrics, and Risk Management 

• Establish and monitor quality metrics across the program. 

• Analyze quality data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities. 

• Track, manage, and escalate non-compliance issues and corrective/preventative action plans to closure. 

• Lead root cause analysis and lessons learned activities to strengthen program performance. 

• Provide regular quality status briefings to program leadership and stakeholders. 

Customer and Stakeholder Engagement 

• Serve as the primary quality interface with customers and external stakeholders. 

• Support technical exchange meetings, design reviews, demonstrations, and program reviews. 

• Ensure delivered work products meet contractual quality expectations. 

• Provide training and guidance to program staff on quality practices, standards, and best practices. 

Agile and Development Team Support 

• Provide quality leadership within Agile and hybrid development environments. 

• Participate in Agile ceremonies including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Reviews, and Retrospectives. 

• Ensure quality practices are embedded in development workflows and delivery pipelines. 

 **This position is contingent on contract award.** 

Required Qualifications: 

• Active Public Trust clearance. 

• Bachelor’s Degree with 8 years of experience, Master’s Degree with 6 years of experience, or PhD with 3 years of experience. An additional 4 years of experience may be substituted in lieu of degree. 

• Experience in software engineering, systems engineering, or quality assurance supporting programs of similar scope, complexity, and mission criticality. 

• Demonstrated experience leading quality initiatives or QA teams within complex development programs. 

• Experience implementing quality processes across software, hardware, and system integration efforts. 

• Strong understanding of: 

• Quality Management Systems 

• Verification and Validation processes 

• Requirements traceability 

• Configuration management 

• Audit and compliance activities 

• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence engineering organizations. 

Preferred:

• Minimum of 7+ years of experience in software engineering, systems engineering, or quality assurance supporting programs of similar scope, complexity, and mission criticality. 

• Experience supporting satellite systems, ground systems, or aerospace/mission-critical programs. 

• Experience working within government or federally funded programs. 

• Familiarity with industry standards such as: 

• ISO 9001 

• AS9100 

• CMMI 

• NASA / NOAA development practices 

• Experience establishing quality metrics frameworks and dashboards for program leadership. 

Tools & Technical Experience 

• Experience with the Atlassian tool suite, including Jira, Confluence, and related tools. 

• Experience with requirements and risk tracking systems. 

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). 

• Experience working with asset management systems with database and workflow components. 

• Experience supporting distributed or geographically dispersed teams using modern collaboration tools. 

Leadership Competencies 

• Strong leadership and decision-making ability. 

• Ability to drive accountability across large technical teams. 

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills. 

• Strategic thinking combined with strong execution focus. 

• Ability to operate effectively in high-visibility, mission-critical programs.