Job DescriptionSenior Software Architect - Missile Flight SoftwareLocation: Huntsville, AL
Worksite: 100% Onsite
Clearance: Active Secret preferred; ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance required
Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship required
OverviewWe are seeking a Senior Software Architect to support software architecture and missile flight software development for a major defense program. This role is responsible for developing and communicating a common software vision across Agile teams, with a focus on delivering integrated products, tools, and software components that support SDS organizational goals and mission-critical program objectives.
The Software Architect will work closely with leadership, including the Software Integration Lead, Software Engineering Lead, Systems Engineering Lead, product teams, and other technical stakeholders to implement a common architecture across the full organization. This individual will define, document, and communicate software architecture and design decisions, ensure implementation aligns with mission and program requirements, and help guide engineering teams through disciplined software development, integration, and verification activities.
This is a senior technical leadership role focused on architecture, technical direction, and cross-team alignment. The ideal candidate has experience architecting software for missile, interceptor, flight, avionics, simulation, real-time embedded, or similarly complex mission-critical systems.
Key Responsibilities- Develop and communicate a common software architecture vision across Agile teams and product teams.
- Define, document, and maintain software architecture for missile flight software, simulation software products, embedded systems, tools, interfaces, and related software components.
- Lead architectural design activities across software components, interfaces, data flows, timing behavior, real-time constraints, integration points, and mission-critical functionality.
- Work closely with systems engineering, software engineering, integration, test, cybersecurity, hardware, GNC, safety, and program leadership teams to ensure software architecture supports technical, mission, performance, safety, interface, and verification requirements.
- Ensure software products follow appropriate software development processes, software reuse strategies, DevSecOps practices, automation approaches, and engineering lifecycle best practices.
- Guide C++ and Python software development teams through design, implementation, integration, test, and verification activities.
- Support requirements analysis, architecture traceability, and design documentation using tools such as DOORS, Cameo, UML, SysML, Rhapsody, or similar model-based engineering tools.
- Evaluate architectural tradeoffs related to performance, reliability, maintainability, safety, timing, memory usage, hardware/software interfaces, mission execution, and long-term software scalability.
- Support lab development, integration, simulation, and testbed activities to ensure successful implementation of software architecture and design.
- Resolve complex technical issues across teams and drive collaborative agreement among teams with differing goals, priorities, and technical objectives.
- Support formal engineering and program reviews, including architecture reviews, PDR, CDR, TRR, FCA/PCA, and related milestone events.
- Provide technical mentorship to software engineers and help enforce disciplined software engineering, systems engineering, and DevSecOps practices.
- Communicate architecture decisions clearly to engineering teams, program leadership, and customer stakeholders.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related engineering/technical discipline.
- 15+ years experience performing software architecture for engineering teams.
- Experience with Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA) and Object-Oriented Design (OOD) techniques.
- Strong C++ software development background.
- Experience with Python programming.
- Experience designing or supporting software architecture for real-time, embedded, mission-critical, flight, missile, interceptor, avionics, simulation, weapons, aerospace, or similarly complex systems.
- Experience working in structured defense, aerospace, or similarly regulated software development environments.
- Experience with software and systems engineering best practices across the engineering lifecycle.
- Experience defining, documenting, communicating, and verifying implementation of software architecture and design.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Strong interpersonal, collaboration, and technical leadership skills.
- Ability to resolve complex technical issues across multiple teams and stakeholders.
- Ability to work a flexible schedule when required to support lab development, integration, and program needs.
- Ability to travel occasionally within the United States as required.
- U.S. Citizenship required.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications- Active Secret clearance.
- Experience with missile defense programs, NGI, interceptor flight software, missile flight software, fire control, guidance/navigation/control, seekers, propulsion interfaces, telemetry, or mission execution software.
- Experience architecting software for missile, interceptor, flight, avionics, weapons, aerospace, or other safety/mission-critical embedded systems.
- Experience with real-time software development.
- Experience with Linux and real-time operating systems.
- Experience with RTOS, hardware/software integration, target hardware, simulation environments, lab environments, or testbed integration.
- Experience with Agile software development methodologies.
- Experience with DevSecOps processes, automation, CI/CD pipelines, and related tools.
- Experience with model-based engineering tools such as Cameo, Rhapsody, UML, SysML, or similar tools.
- Experience with requirements management and traceability tools such as DOORS or similar platforms.
- Experience with software reuse, modular architecture, automated engineering workflows, and scalable product-line software practices.
- Experience supporting formal engineering reviews such as PDR, CDR, TRR, FCA/PCA, or architecture review boards.
- Familiarity with safety-critical development, MIL-STD-882, cybersecurity constraints, formal verification, or defense software assurance practices.
- Experience mentoring engineers or serving as a technical lead, chief engineer, software IPT lead, software architecture owner, or similar senior technical role.
- Prior experience performing software architecture for simulation software products is highly beneficial.
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