Senior Software Engineer

**Description**

SAIC is seeking a **Senior Software Engineer** to support the eXtensible Flight System (XFS), a configurable, modular software product used to develop advanced flight displays using the Avilution XFS software. In this role, you will contribute to the design, implementation, and verification of safety-critical avionics software developed under DO-178C (DAL C) objectives. This role will be onsite in **Huntsville, AL.**

You will work primarily in C, with Python used for automation, tooling, and test infrastructure, in an agile environment supported by a modern CI/CD pipeline. This position is ideal for an engineer who enjoys low-level, high-reliability software development, working with modular architectures, and building robust capabilities that directly impact flight crew situational awareness and safety.

**Responsibilities and Duties**

**Core Software Development**

+ Design, implement, and maintain XFS software components in C, following DO-178C DAL C processes and coding standards.

+ Develop and enhance configurable, modular flight display features and associated infrastructure.

+ Implement and maintain Python-based tools, scripts, and test harnesses to support development, integration, and verification activities.

**Safety-Critical & Standards-Driven Engineering**

+ Apply DO-178C-compliant development practices, including rigorous requirements-based design, traceability, and verification.

+ Contribute to the development and review of software requirements, architecture, design, and low-level implementation artifacts.

+ Participate in and support software verification activities (unit, integration, and system testing) to demonstrate compliance with DO-178C DAL C objectives.

**Integration, CI/CD, and Tooling**

+ Integrate XFS components with other flight software elements, data sources, and target platforms (e.g., real-time operating systems or embedded targets, as applicable).

+ Support and improve the CI/CD pipeline to automate builds, tests, static analysis, and deployment to development/integration environments.

+ Use and enhance static analysis, code coverage, data coupling, control coupling, Worst Case Execution Time analysis and other quality tools to ensure reliability and maintainability.

**Agile Collaboration and Technical Leadership**

+ Work within an agile team (e.g., Scrum or Kanban), participating in sprint planning, backlog refinement, daily standups, reviews, and retrospectives.

+ Collaborate with systems engineers, test engineers, and human-factors/UX personnel to refine requirements into implementable software features.

+ Participate in peer reviews of requirements, design, code, and test cases to ensure quality, safety, and compliance.

+ Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers, promoting best practices for safety-critical software development.

**Documentation, Quality, and Continuous Improvement**

+ Produce and maintain clear technical documentation (design descriptions, interface specifications, test procedures, and reports) in support of certification and audit needs.

+ Contribute to process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, quality, and consistency of the XFS development lifecycle.

+ Investigate and resolve defects and field issues, including root cause analysis and robust corrective actions.

**Qualifications**

**Education Requirements:**

+ Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field and five (5) years’ experience; Six (6) years’ additional experience can be considered in lieu of degree (per contract vehicle).

**Clearance Requirements:**

+ Must possess an active Interim Secret security clearance with the ability to obtain a Secret security clearance; US Citizenship required.

**Required Experience:**

+ 5 - 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including substantial hands-on work in C.

+ Strong proficiency in C programming, including memory management, pointers, data structures, and low-level debugging.

+ Experience with Python for scripting, test automation, and tooling.

+ Experience developing software in an agile environment (Scrum, Kanban) with iterative delivery.

+ Familiarity with CI/CD concepts and tools (e.g., Git-based workflows, automated builds, automated test execution).

+ Solid understanding of software engineering fundamentals: requirements, design, implementation, verification, and configuration management.

+ Experience with unit and integration testing, including writing test cases and analyzing results.

+ Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently on complex issues and collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary team.

+ Clear written and verbal communication skills, including participation in technical reviews and documentation.

**Preferred Experience:**

+ Experience developing safety- or mission-critical software, particularly in the aerospace/avionics domain.

+ Working knowledge of DO-178C processes and objectives, especially at DAL C or higher, including traceability and verification practices.

+ Experience with flight displays, avionics, or embedded real-time systems.

+ Familiarity with static analysis tools, code coverage tools, and other quality/compliance tooling commonly used in DO-178C environments.

+ Experience with configuration management and issue tracking tools (e.g., Git, GitLab/GitHub/Bitbucket, Jira).

+ Experience with Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO) for working item tracking, source control, build/release pipelines, and test management.

+ Knowledge of model-based development, graphical display frameworks, or configurable/UI-driven systems is a plus.

+ Prior experience mentoring other engineers or serving as a technical lead on development efforts.

Target salary range: $120,001 - $160,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.

REQNUMBER: 2616844

SAIC is a premier technology integrator, solving our nation's most complex modernization and systems engineering challenges across the defense, space, federal civilian, and intelligence markets. Our robust portfolio of offerings includes high-end solutions in systems engineering and integration; enterprise IT, including cloud services; cyber; software; advanced analytics and simulation; and training. We are a team of 23,000 strong driven by mission, united purpose, and inspired by opportunity. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $6.5 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For information on the benefits SAIC offers, see Working at SAIC. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability