Space Telescope

Software Engineer, Sr

Job Category: SW3 Requisition Number: SOFTW005502

Posted: June 2, 2026

Full-Time

Hybrid

Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

Job Details

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), is NASA's science operations center for missions including the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. STScI leads observation planning, data analysis, public engagement, and data archiving for flagship missions. Our staff spans astronomy, engineering, education, IT, communications, and administration—working together to bring space science to the world.

STScI is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our Instruments Division Software Engineering Branch (ISEB). We're looking for a talented and experienced professional to work with fellow software engineers, technical staff, and scientists, who serve missions such as HST, JWST, and Roman. Visit our website to learn more about our missions.

The Instruments Division is responsible for supporting observers in their use of the telescopes and archived data and ensuring that scientific instruments provide maximum effectiveness throughout their lifecycle, for the global community of researchers who use them.

As a member of ISEB you will join an agile team of developers who:

• Create software tools and other products that will enable the astronomical community to analyze astronomical data more efficiently
• Architect and evolve end-to-end scientific data solutions
• Lead the design, development, and support of databases that support our tools
• Deploy and manage containerized workloads
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines for reliable use and deployment
• Partner with scientific, engineering, and non-technical stakeholders to ensure data analysis, performance, accessibility, and reliability of the software products and data analysis tools that we support
• Serve as a senior technical contributor, providing guidance on best practices for software
• Contribute to algorithm design, user support, training, and open-source projects
• Contribute to the design and development of cloud based (AWS) applications

Required Experience, Qualifications and Skills:

• Degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Strong experience designing, developing, and troubleshooting scalable data pipelines
• Strong programming skills in Python using version control
• Experience with task brokers, messengers, and queues such as kafka, SQS, redis, celery
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical teams
• Strong collaboration skills and the desire to engage with a broadly knowledgeable community
• Proficiency working in a Linux environment

Desired Background:

• Experience in data processing, analysis, and related requirements in a science environment
• Experience working with astronomical data
• Background in astronomy, physics, or earth science
• Experience working with (possibly scientific) datasets at TB and PB scale
• Experience with C/C++ and Python interfacing, such as Cython and the C API
• Experience with multithreading and performance optimization

The substitution of additional relevant education and/or experience for stated qualifications may be considered.

To apply: You will need to submit the following materials: a cover letter, a resume or CV with details of relevant technical skills or experience, and the names of three people who have agreed to provide a letter of reference upon request. Application received by June 21, 2026, will receive full consideration. Applications received after this date will be considered until the position is filled. Ref: HRC0015899