Senior Software Engineer

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.

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.