Software Product Assurance Engineer

Here at The Exploration Company, we are developing, producing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle that can eventually be refuelled in orbit and that can carry cargo - and potentially humans in the longer run.

We are seeking an experienced Software Product Assurance Engineer to manage the quality of our space projects from a software perspective. This role is integral to the Software team, ensuring that our software products meet the highest standards of reliability, performance, and compliance with contractual requirements.

Key Responsibilities

As a Software Product Assurance (SW PA) Engineer, you will hold a crucial position within the Software Team. You will serve as the SW quality focal point for space projects, with a primary focus on the Nyx Earth project. Your duties will encompass a wide range of responsibilities, including but not limited to:

• Establishing and maintaining the project's SW PA&S requirements baseline in compliance with applicable NASA/ESA requirements and best market practices.

• Developing and implementing a SW Quality Assurance Program in accordance with NASA-STD-8739.8, intended to cover the SW quality activities across all the project lifecycle phases.

• Developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing SW QA plans.

• Conducting independent evaluations of software development processes to ensure compliance with organizational standards and safety requirements.

• Participating in the analysis and evaluation of software design, including change impact analysis and regression testing, particularly for COTS software.

• Overseeing and participating in verification and validation (V&V) activities according to a defined V&V plan, ensuring traceability of all requirements and exclusion of unauthorized functions.

• Supporting Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) activities, working in coordination with IV&V personnel to mitigate software risks and enhance safety and quality.

• Managing SW nonconformities, deviations, alerts, and assessing their impact.

• Contributing to the risk management process and managing SW Critical Items.

• Managing and applying SW lessons learned.

• Planning, conducting and following up on project SW audits.

• Overseeing configuration management processes to ensure alignment with approved plans, including identification, status accounting, change control, verification, and delivery.

• Ensuring software reliability and maintainability requirements are met and traceable to system requirements.

• Conducting software trade studies to ensure consideration of safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality assurance requirements.

• Supporting HSIA analysis.

• Overseeing SW integration with hardware.

What we would love to see from you

In the role of SW Product Assurance Engineer ideally, you will have the following:

• A bachelor in engineering or technical sciences

• Experience in software assurance, quality assurance, or a related field, particularly within aerospace, aviation or defense industries.

• Strong analytical skills and experience with software lifecycle evaluation, configuration management, and V&V activities.

• Programming Languages: Proficiency in C/C++ and Python for software development and scripting tasks.

• Proficiency in managing non-conformances and corrective actions.

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work independently as well as part of a multidisciplinary team.

• Ability to conduct rigorous audits, evaluations, and reviews.

• Detail and solution-oriented mindset with a strong ability to work independently,

• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a team environment while exhibiting strong leadership skills,

• Working fluency in English.

Additional assets:

• Familiarity with NASA software assurance standards and requirements, especially NASA-STD-8739.8 and NASA-GB-8719.13

• Version Control Systems: Expertise in using Git for source code management. Familiarity with GitHub or GitLab for code sharing, issue tracking, collaboration, and version tracking.

• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Experience with CI/CD pipelines to automate testing and deployment of software updates. Familiarity with tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI.

• Software Testing: Knowledge of software testing frameworks and automated testing tools (e.g. googletest, gmock).

• Static Code Analysis: Experience with tools like SonarQube or Coverity analyze code quality.

Why you should join us!

What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:  

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind 

• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them  

• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?  

We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly. 
 
The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.  


All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible.

If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.