Technical Project Lead

Technical Project Lead

Huntsville, AL

We have a strong, growing partnership with NASA around our shared commitment to advance open science in the cloud, push the boundaries of AI-driven Earth science, and build tools that magnify the impact of publicly funded research and data. Our NASA work spans multiple projects and is expanding in scope.

We are looking for a technically-grounded project lead to work across our growing NASA portfolio. You'll bring real technical expertise and engineering leadership to cross-project coordination, stakeholder management, and project strategy. This is a leadership role: you'll be owning outcomes, representing Development Seed in technical forums with NASA, and helping shape how we deliver across multiple projects.

Engineering credibility is central to this role. We lead the engineering and software development side of these partnerships, while NASA program managers navigate the larger institution. You'll be a complement to those skills, not a replacement. That means you're comfortable going deep in technical conversations, giving meaningful direction to our engineering teams, and earning trust in rooms full of engineers and scientists. You won't be writing code day to day, but your background in engineering is what makes you effective.

You'll also be Development Seed's most consistent presence with our NASA partners at Marshall Space Flight Center, representing who we are and how we work: collaborative, curious, open-source oriented, and motivated by impact. Being local to the Huntsville area is a requirement, as regular in-person time with our partners builds the kind of trust and credibility that's hard to replicate remotely.

Development Seed is a unique and rewarding place to do this work. Over the past two decades, we have honed our approach to stewarding projects from opportunity to successful, impactful products. Our partners are working on exciting and important problems. Our technical teams are built of curious, empathetic people with high intrinsic motivation and individual agency. We're open-source by default, we invest heavily in research and development that drives the field, and we're regularly reinventing the nature of our work.

This is a hybrid position with regular on-site presence at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as regular in-person time with our NASA partners is valuable for building the kind of relationships that make this role work. You should have working hours compatible with US Central or Eastern time. You'll also attend key conferences and occasionally travel to work with our global team.

What You'll Do

• Serve as a bridge between NASA stakeholders and Development Seed's engineering teams, reducing communication cycles and keeping projects aligned
• Lead coordination across a portfolio of NASA projects, working with program managers, project teams, and technical experts
• Own project scope, objectives, and timelines, and ensure teams have the resources and support to deliver
• Represent Development Seed in forums and meetings with NASA and partners, bringing technical credibility and our team's perspective
• Build trusted relationships with key stakeholders and proactively identify ways for us to better support them
• Work closely with other project leads to balance priorities across our NASA portfolio
• Help identify and shape new opportunities that emerge from our partnership

What We're Looking For

• Significant experience in technical project or program management, ideally in environments where you stayed close to the engineering work
• A strong technical background in software engineering, data engineering, or a related discipline, with hands-on experience building or leading technical systems
• Experience working on large-scale projects involving collaboration with government agencies, contractors, and cross-functional teams
• Experience with natural sciences, Earth observation, or research-oriented projects
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust across complex stakeholder landscapes
• Ability to lead independently, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and bring the right people into the conversation
• Local to Huntsville Alabama, work schedule compatible with US Central or Eastern time zones, and attend key events like the AGU annual meeting

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with NASA programs, processes, or contracting environments
• Experience with cloud-native geospatial technologies (STAC, COG, Zarr, and other cloud-optimized data formats)
• Familiarity with organizations in the open geospatial ecosystem like Pangeo, 2i2c, Microsoft Planetary Computer, AWS Open Data, Google Earth Engine
• Activity in relevant open source communities and conferences like ESIP, IGARSS, FOSS4G, AGU, OSGeo
• Experience with ML/AI projects, particularly applied to Earth observation or geoscience data
• Experience implementing project management tooling and processes for distributed teams

How We Work

• We collaborate in the open — clear GitHub issues, thoughtful Slack conversations, and supportive code reviews
• We care about the work and each other — sharing ideas, giving feedback, and investing in team growth
• We build sustainably — focusing on quality, longevity, and impact, not just delivery speed
• We care about the real world — our work supports science, sustainability, and public good

The Hiring Process

We have a comprehensive 5 step hiring process, designed to be thorough and engaging to ensure that you and our team have a clear understanding of how we can succeed together:

1. Application review
2. Introductory interview to get to know each other (30 minutes)
3. Technical interview to talk about your skills for this position, prior experience, and answer hypothetical questions about how you'd approach future projects (1 hour)
4. Team fit interview to align with our team's culture and your longer term career goals (30 minutes)
5. Paid full day virtual interview activity for you to collaborate directly with our team members (8 hours)

If this role sounds exciting but you're not sure you check every box, we encourage you to apply. We're looking for thoughtful, motivated leaders who want to grow and contribute.

Development Seed takes embracing differences and providing fair opportunities seriously. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.