Software Engineer Lead, Online

Salary: $123,000 - 153,000 per year Requirements:

• We require a bachelors degree in computer science, physics, astronomy, or a related discipline; an advanced degree is preferred.
• We require at least 3 years of direct experience supervising a software team of three or more people.
• We require at least 7 years of software development experience; comparable relevant experience may be considered.
• We prefer experience with radio astronomy operating software and procedures, along with knowledge of radio astronomy theory and practice.
• We prefer proven technical leadership on complex data acquisition, scheduling, and operational support systems.
• We expect demonstrated success leading software development groups, ideally in an astronomy-related environment.
• We expect experience managing distributed development teams, plus familiarity with planning, reporting, and management practices.
• We expect strong communication skills, both verbal and written, and the ability to work effectively with scientists, engineers, and stakeholders.
• We expect familiarity with technologies such as Java, C, C++, Python, testing frameworks, threading, and parallelization.
• We expect the ability to translate scientific needs into software requirements, understand software architecture, and apply project management concepts.
• We require strong leadership, delegation, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• We require U.S. work authorization; we cannot sponsor H-1B visas for this role.

• We oversee the personnel and technical management of software teams supporting data acquisition, dynamic telescope scheduling, observation preparation tools, and system integration.
• We provide planning, technical direction, and coordination across short- and long-term software initiatives.
• We manage the full software lifecycle, including requirements gathering, development planning, task assignment, progress tracking, integration, testing, acceptance, and release.
• We maintain strong stakeholder relationships, set priorities based on operational needs, and ensure clear communication with senior leadership and other partners.
• We supervise and support staff through recruiting, onboarding, professional development, succession planning, reviews, and day-to-day line management.
• We foster a culture of trust, collaboration, accountability, and high performance within the team.
• We ensure compliance with safety policies, HR procedures, and applicable Observatory rules and regulations.
• We guide software infrastructure development, integration of components, and consistent implementation quality across the groups products.
• We approve technical direction, support expert developers, and continually improve engineering practices and workflows.
• We may present management status, deadlines, and progress updates to leadership, stakeholders, and advisory groups.
• We work closely with scientists, systems engineers, operations staff, and project stakeholders to align shared software infrastructure with current and future needs.

• Support
• Java
• Python

More:

We are the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a leading research and development organization operated by Associated Universities, Inc. under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. We support a world-class scientific community through advanced radio telescope facilities and software systems that contribute to discoveries about black holes, galaxies, and the early universe. This full-time Software Engineer Group Lead, Online role can be based in Albuquerque, Socorro, Charlottesville, or Green Bank, and remote work may be considered for well-qualified candidates. The position offers a starting salary of $123,000 to $153,000, with pay influenced by experience, education, skills, and internal equity. We operate in a research and development office environment, and occasional domestic or international travel may be required.

last updated 33 week of 2026