Research Software Engineer - Technical Program Manager, LINCC Frameworks

The Department of Astronomy has an outstanding opportunity for a Research Software Engineer - Technical Program Manager to join the LINCC Frameworks Team.  

About this Opportunity 

The next generation of astronomical surveys, including those scheduled to be conducted by the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the recently announced Schmidt Observatories, will provide unprecedented data sets with the potential to answer fundamental questions about the universe. At the same time, the flood of data will introduce new computational challenges. 

We are looking for a Technical Program Manager (TPM) to work at the intersection of state of the art computer science and cutting edge astrophysics. The TPM will manage software requirements and scope, software delivery, partner engagements and community efforts with Rubin Observatory, the Schmidt Observatories, and the broader astronomical community. The TPM will also contribute to the design and development of analysis frameworks that run on the cloud or high-performance computing (HPC) systems that can store, search, analyze and annotate data of the volume and complexity of the Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) data.  These frameworks will provide an interface for the astronomical community to run real time and batch analyses (e.g. to search for one-in-a-million events in continuous streams of data). You will shape, drive, and execute this vision to build scalable software that can help shape the future of astronomical research. 

As a Technical Program Manager (TPM) you will work with engineering teams at the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University. You will manage the development of new cloud-based and HPC software platforms that will use cutting edge computer science techniques to enable the analysis of time series and static data from the next generation of surveys. The majority of development is in Python with some performance critical code in C/C++/Rust. Development incorporates software best practices such as peer code review, to produce secure, testable, maintainable, and extensible code. To succeed in this role, you should be passionate about research, basic and applied science, possess technical and analytical skills, terrific cross-group collaboration skills, and a natural ability to connect with stakeholders to achieve mutual wins and outcomes. You should be creative with superior analytical abilities, have a track record of delivery in a software and technology environment with a can-do attitude.  

Core Responsibilities:   

Technical Program Management (40%): Lead product planning for end-to-end scenarios based on user, customer, and community inputs; define OKRs and establish and execute plans for improving key results; manage software requirements, scope, and delivery across engineering teams at UW and Carnegie Mellon University; prepare and deliver high-quality executive reviews to ensure strategic alignment with leadership; generate energy and alignment across teams with clear customer and program goals.  

Software Design and Development (20%): Contribute to the design and development of scalable cloud-based and HPC analysis frameworks enabling the astronomical community to store, search, analyze, and annotate large-scale time series and static data from LSST and the Schmidt Observatories; primary development in Python, with performance-critical components in C, C++, or Rust. 

Scientific Collaboration and Requirements Gathering (20%): Partner with Rubin Observatory, Schmidt Observatories, and the broader astronomical community; work directly with astronomy researchers to identify use cases, co-create software specifications, and integrate scientific analysis code into scalable frameworks; partner with software developers on scenarios, feature/product tradeoffs, priorities, and incremental value delivery; present to customers and other stakeholders and use feedback to continuously improve the product. Contribute to team discussions aimed at advancing project goals and solve meaningful problems through technical innovation. 

Software Quality and Engineering Best Practices (20%): Implement and uphold software engineering best practices including peer code review, version control, testing, and documentation to produce secure, testable, maintainable, and extensible code; function within diverse cross-domain teams, learn new skills and technologies as necessary, and solve meaningful problems through technical innovation. Responsible for the successful completion of assigned project tasks with minimum supervision. 

Adaptability, excellence, and passion are vital qualities within the University of Washington.  We are in search of a team member who can effectively interact with a varied population of internal and external partners at a high level of integrity. We are looking for someone who shares our values and who will support the mission of the university through their work. 

Minimum Requirements:  

• Bachelor’s Degree, computer science or related field 

• Minimum of 3 years of programming or technical management experience in an industrial or academic role 

Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

Additional Requirements

• Programming experience with at least one modern language such as Python, Java, C++ including object-oriented design 

Desired Qualifications:  

• Strong understanding of all phases of software development lifecycle (SDLC)  

• Experience creating high quality software specification documents and partnering with developers to define feature scope and estimates.   

• Track record running agile software development processes and experience with modern SDLC and DevOps / MLOps tools  

• Experience working with open-source software / open-source community