Title: Data and Software Solutions Technical Lead
Location: Remote
Clearance: National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI) with ability to obtain a Security Clearance
Citizenship Requirement: U.S. Citizen
Req #: 4002
Salary: $40.00 to $54.50 /hr DOE
Summary: Craig Technologies has an opening for a Part Time Data and Software Solutions Technical Lead at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In this role, you will shape the technical future of multiple mission-critical systems directly impacting crew safety, performance, and planning for Artemis and Mars exploration. On the Human Health and Performance contract, we are at the forefront of safeguarding astronaut health, ensuring human performance, and advancing technologies for human space exploration. Come build the software that will keep humans healthy on the way to Mars — at startup speed, with NASA’s mission. We move fast, we ship constantly, and we are extremely selective because the mission (and the team) deserves the absolute best.
What You Will Do:
- Architect & Prototype
- Architect end-to-end systems that can start as fast, lightweight prototypes and evolve into production-grade, scalable, secure enterprise applications.
- Hands-on System Building: Write production-level code, especially during early prototyping, critical-path features, or complex backend/data components.
- Full-Stack Ownership: Own the end-to-end architecture (frontend, backend, data, cloud) for all products, ensuring a pathway from prototype to production.
- GenAI Strategy: Drive the strategy and implementation of Generative AI and AI enabled features.
- Serve as the engineering counterpart to the D&S Product Manager, co-owning technical strategy, prioritization, trade-offs, and execution.
- Data Command: Architect normalized data systems that ingest, clean, and visualize complex physiological sensor data. You will design the pipelines that turn raw signals into actionable insights for mission scientists
- Lead. Multiply. Deliver.
- High-Leverage Guidance: Given the part-time nature of the team, your primary function is to be an "unblocker" and "force multiplier." Help the team deliver fast, make trade-offs, and stay aligned with mission timelines and scientific realities.
- Team Elevation: Provide technical leadership, mentorship, review code across all repositories and guide engineers toward clean, scalable architectural patterns.
- DevOps & Automation: Drive robust CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices to ensure continuous delivery, monitoring, and stability for both AI-enabled and core applications.
- Build Secure, Scalable Infrastructure: Engineer robust data/software ecosystems with normalized databases (RDBMS/NoSQL), RESTful/GraphQL APIs, and cloud-native services (AWS/Azure).
- Champion Best Practices and Innovation: Shape best practices for R&D workflows that must transition to operational-grade systems. Stay ahead of emerging trends in software development and AI to propose innovative solutions
What You Bring:
You are energized by “let’s just build it and show astronauts next week.” You’re a pragmatic leader with an entrepreneurial, fast-moving mindset who prioritizes business value and rapid iteration over purely academic perfection.
You understand that "time-to-value" is the most critical metric. You are a master prototyper, data wizard and enterprise architect rolled into one. You live in data, move fast, thrive in ambiguity, and can personally take a system from zero → working prototype → production while guiding and multiplying the output of a small part-time team of engineers.
If you’ve ever wanted to combine deep full-stack engineering, modern AI/GenAI, physiological data systems, and actual space exploration at startup velocity, it doesn’t get better than this!
REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
- 8+ years of hands-on experience as a full-stack developer/architect, including designing backend architectures, prototyping MVPs, and delivering scalable enterprise applications in production environments.
- 6+ years leading and mentoring engineering teams to ship production code in short cycles, particularly remote teams with demonstratable ability teaching engineers how to think, not just what to build.
- Desired: Master's degree in data science, data analytics, or related field, and knowledge of software or hardware systems related to NASA systems or missions.
- U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required
YOUR SKILLS:
- Demonstrated ability to rapidly prototype full systems from scratch (e.g., using serverless architectures) and scale them to enterprise levels, incorporating security (zero-trust, RBAC) and performance optimization.
- Hands-on expertise in distributed systems design, microservices, and high-availability architectures.
- Experience in early-stage environments or "skunkworks" teams where you had to wear every hat (DevOps, DB Admin, Frontend, Backend).
- Expert Full Stack Proficiency in modern frameworks: React/Next.js (Frontend), Python/Go/Node.js (Backend).
- Expert in building API services by implementing REST, or other popular patterns/technologies (e.g., GraphQL, serverless, etc.) in a distributed systems environment.
- Deep experience with relational and non-relational databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, etc.).
- Advanced skills in data modeling, ETL processes, and building predictive analytics/ML models.
- Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, common design patterns, and performance optimization.
- Cloud & DevOps Expertise in one or more major CSPs (AWS, Azure) and strong experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), IaC (Terraform/CloudFormation), and automated CI/CD.
- Exceptional communication (written/verbal) for stakeholder presentations, grant proposals, and reports; self-directed problem-solver with strategic thinking to tie tech to business outcomes.
- Thrives in ambiguous R&D environments.
- Proficient with Agile/Scrum/Lean for sprint planning/risk mitigation.
- Enjoys fast iteration, experimentation, and quick transitions from prototype to MVP to enterprise-grade.
WORK LOCATION
This position is expected to be part time, and 100% remote. Occasional travel may be required.
List any required Security Clearances and/or Certifications if applicable
- Must Pass a NASA Background Check
- Must be able to obtain/hold a Security Clearance
- Must be a US Citizen
Craig Technologies is an EEO Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other non-job-related protected status. All candidates selected will be subject to a security background investigation and must meet all eligibility requirements for access to classified information.