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.

System Test Engineer- COS-1032-018

About the Role

Skills

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