AP110 Principal Software Systems Engineer / Full-Stack Architect

ADNET Systems, Inc. provides information systems and professional services to the federal government, with extensive expertise supporting NASA and space and Earth science missions. The Principal Software Systems Engineer / Full-Stack Architect will own the architecture, hands-on development, cloud deployment, security, applied AI, user experience, and delivery of the NASA Guest Observer Facility modernization prototype while leading a small development team and collaborating with stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

• System architecture and design. Define the overall architecture spanning front-end interfaces, back-end services, relational databases, cloud infrastructure, and applied-AI components. Make and document the technology choices; the stack is yours to select based on fit, maintainability, and speed-to-delivery
• Hands-on full-stack development. Personally build the core of the prototype: user-class specific front-end web interfaces, business logic, APIs, and data models. Set engineering standards
• Cloud deployment. Stand up and operate the system in a cloud environment suitable for U.S. government workloads, with attention to security, cost, and reliability
• Data security and privacy. Design and operate the system to protect CUI and PII throughout, applying relevant federal frameworks (see Required Qualifications)
• Applied AI. Incorporate AI/LLM capabilities where they add clear value. e.g. reviewer matching, conflict identification, document generation. This includes prompt design, agent/harness engineering, and management of token cost
• User experience and accessibility. Design intuitive, role-specific user experiences and accessible web interfaces for a non-technical, expert user base
• Performance optimization. Profile and tune the system to meet responsiveness and scale needs across submission, review, and reporting workloads
• Team leadership. Lead, mentor, and coordinate the work of up to two web developers; establish issue, test, and release-management practices; and serve as the durable source of institutional knowledge during build, transition, and maintenance
• Stakeholder collaboration. Partner with GOF scientists and the support office to translate requirements and feedback into prioritized, shippable increments, and communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to non-engineers
• Prototype-to-product iteration. Deliver the December 2026 prototype, then iterate based on user feedback to mature the system toward production

Requirements:

• US Citizenship or Permanent Residency (LPR) required, with US residency for the past 3 consecutive years
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Tier 1 Investigation through NASA
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. (Advanced degree a plus.)
• Approximately 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including senior or principal-level responsibility
• Demonstrated experience leading small software development teams as a hands-on technical lead
• Strong front-end development experience
• Strong core software development skills with depth across multiple languages and paradigms
• Proven experience designing and deploying multi-technology, full-stack systems end to end
• Hands-on experience with cloud technologies and deployment
• Experience handling sensitive information and PII
• Experience working with AI systems in production settings
• Experience with database management software
• Experience designing user-experience systems for distinct user roles
• Experience designing accessible web interfaces
• Track record of iterating on prototypes and bringing them to production
• Experience working with academic scientists or within a scientific research environment
• Experience with comparable proposal- or grant-management systems, such as Research.gov or NIH/NCBI proposal-management platforms (e.g., eRA Commons / ASSIST)
• Experience deploying fast-to-market prototypes for niche or specialized user bases
• Experience integrating federated authentication / identity services such as ORCID, Login.gov, or STARRS/InCommon-style federations
• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Astronomy, a physical science, or a related field
• Familiarity with FedRAMP and/or AWS GovCloud (or comparable government-cloud) environments
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-171 (CUI) and Privacy Act / PII obligations
• Demonstrated skill in performance optimization of web and data systems