Principal System Architect

Job Description

About STC

STC is a science, sensors, and systems company founded in 1979. We continually expand our Earth and Space Sciences support capabilities to NASA, NOAA, DoD, and other Federal and State agencies. Our staff support many of the operational missions that monitor the heartbeat of our planet through a growing number of Earth Observing System of Systems platforms and direct field research. We also research and investigate leading-edge observing technologies and assist in their integration into operations.

STC offers competitive benefits to include health, dental, vision, FSA, life, disability, 401K (matching), tuition reimbursement, bonus/incentive programs, and various other plans.

Overview

The EOSDIS Evolution and Development (EED) program supports NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) in enabling global, open access to critical Earth observation data. STC is growing its EED support team and is seeking a Principal Systems Architect to define and maintain the overall technical architecture of the EED program platform.

The Principal Systems Architect ensures coherent system design, integration standards, and scalability across the EOSDIS Evolution and Development program. This role translates complex earth science mission requirements into a cloud-native technical architecture, leads architecture reviews, and drives technical consensus across Platform, Integration & Analysis, and Science & Data program trains. Domain expertise in NOAA or NASA earth science data systems is a significant differentiator.

Primary Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the overall technical architecture for the EED program platform across multiple cloud-native program trains.

• Lead architecture reviews and drive technical consensus on platform design, integration standards, scalability, and security.

• Design cloud-native solutions on AWS leveraging serverless, microservices, and event-driven architecture patterns appropriate for large-scale earth science data workflows.

• Translate complex NASA and ESDIS mission requirements into technical architecture, integration standards, and implementation roadmaps.

• Define API design standards, microservices boundaries, and event-driven integration patterns across the program.

• Ensure coherent data architecture, storage strategies, and dissemination pathways for earth observation data at operational scale.

• Collaborate with systems engineers, product owners, and program leadership to align architecture with mission timelines and priorities.

• Provide architectural guidance and mentorship to Principal, Senior, and mid-level engineers across all program trains.

• Participate in Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) planning events, Program Increment (PI) planning, sprint ceremonies, backlog refinement, and technical reviews.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams within a large, multi-team Agile environment to deliver cloud-native earth science data capabilities on schedule.

• Contribute to CI/CD pipeline automation, code review, testing, and documentation in accordance with program standards.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field

• 10+ years of experience designing large-scale distributed systems

• Deep expertise in cloud-native architecture patterns on AWS

• Proven track record defining architecture for data-intensive or scientific platforms

• Strong API design, microservices, and event-driven architecture background

• Demonstrated ability to lead architecture reviews and drive technical consensus across multidisciplinary teams

• Experience translating complex mission requirements into technical architecture

Desired Skills and Experience

• NASA, NOAA, or federal earth science data program experience (EOSDIS, NWS, NESDIS)

• Familiarity with EOSDIS data standards or earth observation data formats (NetCDF, HDF, GRIB)

• AWS Solutions Architect Professional certification

• SAFe or large-program Agile at scale experience

• Background in geospatial systems, scientific data pipelines, or earth observation infrastructure

Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident / Green Card holder.