Python/Java Tool Suite Engineer (NASA IMOC)

Description Job Description:Leidos has an opening for a Python/Java Tool Suite Engineer to support the Integrated Mission Operations Contract II (IMOC II). The engineer will be assigned to the Trajectory Software group within the Flight Dynamics Division at NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they will be a member of the Platform Independent Software Components for the Exploration of Space (PISCES) Project Team.The candidate may be requested to be on-call to provide software technical support and must be able to support a flexible work week as infrequent early morning, late evening, and weekend work may be required to support real-time launch schedules. This position is not related to flight controller certification.Per the contract, U.S. Citizenship is required.The PISCES Project Team is a small elite software development group responsible for developing and maintaining Java-based software tools used by the Flight Dynamics Division community. PISCES is a Java-based astrodynamics application suite with a 20+ year heritage used for shuttle, the Visiting Vehicle Office (VVO), International Space Station (ISS), Boeing Crew Space Transportation (CST), and Artemis for all phases of flight. It is also used as a library to the Mission Control Center (MCC) Trajectory Subsystem application suite for astrodynamics tools, scripts, Graphical User Interface (GUI) widgets, etc. A successful applicant needs to be equally at home using, or quick to learn, aerospace domain knowledge to develop software requirements and using programming skills to meet those requirements.The engineer will receive training from the software users, which include flight controllers and analysts, to understand the software packages, and develop, maintain, and manage the software''s unique capabilities. The software the applicant will be responsible for supporting is used by the US Visiting Vehicle Officer (USVVO) flight controller group to perform on-orbit vehicle burn targeting and to plot the trajectory of vehicles as they approach and depart the ISS, to ensure the safety of the rendezvous/capture and release/departure operations of spacecraft delivering people and cargo to the ISS. The engineer will work with the USVVO group to determine how software capabilities are used; to develop and analyze new requirements; to design, develop, and test software code; as well as to create associated documentation, while adhering to the group''s software processes and standards.Additionally, the engineer may also support software used by the Flight Dynamics Office (FDO) flight controller group to perform ascent trajectory verification for launches of the Space Launch System (SLS)/Orion vehicle for Artemis and Commercial Crew Boeing CST-100 missions. The employee may also support software used by the Trajectory Operations and Planning Officer (TOPO) flight controller group to support ISS Increment missions. Similar training will be provided, by working with the FDO and TOPO groups to understand user requirements and software capabilities.As part of preparing for Artemis II (following) and Artemis III (operation) missions and beyond, the PISCES group is looking at re-architecting part of the PISCES suite of tools in Python. Experience with Python is mandatory.Associated tools used that support the typical developer duties include the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Freeflyer, and GitLab.Primary Responsibilities:Interfacing with NASA customer daily.Meeting support, which may include concisely reporting notable and actionable results to management or team. Note, in some cases facilitating one or more meetings and taking minutes.Representing the PISCES Team at different NASA panels, boards, and working groups.Writing and reviewing PISCES tool suite requirements, and customer and performance issues.Creating and quality assuring relatable mission data products for internal and external customers.Developing software requirements for and testing console situational awareness tools, data production tools, and/or analysis tools.Developing training lessons.Performing analysis, trade studies, running trajectory simulations and interpreting performance data. Note this may include modifying Java, Python, or Freeflyer scripts and running them in a Linux environment.Making oral presentations to team peers, Flight Control Engineers, and various levels of management.Required Education and Experience:Bachelor''s or Master''s degree in engineering (ABET), physics, mathematics or similar technical discipline, and at least 4 years of relevant experience.Beginner to intermediate experience in Java, Python, or similar software (like C++) development on either Linux or Windows-based development platforms.Knowledge in the aerospace engineering domain (or quick to learn), and enjoys software development and programming in Java and Python.Ability to travel, as needed (low percentage, no current requirement) to support potential related technical forums or professional conferences.Preferred Qualifications:Orbital/celestial mechanics, spacecraft flight dynamics, real-time spacecraft trajectory system design, analysis, and/or operations.Education or experience with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) tools, such as GitLab Inc. Gitlab®, MathWorks Matlab®, and/or a.i. solutions FreeFlyer®.Experience with software project management and development lifecycle.Pay Range:Pay Range $74,750.00 - $115,000.00 - $155,250.00The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Created: 2025-11-15