Overview: The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a $430 million dollar observatory project dedicated to understanding how changes in climate, land use and invasive species impact ecology. For the next three decades NEON will collect a comprehensive range of ecological data on a continental scale across 20 eco-climatic domains representing US ecosystems. NEON will use cutting edge technology including an airborne observation platform that will capture images of regional landscapes and vegetation; mobile, re-locatable, and fixed data collection sites with automated ground sensors to monitor soil and atmosphere; and trained field crews who will observe and sample populations of diverse organisms and collect soil and water data. A leading edge cyber-infrastructure will calibrate, store and publish this information. The Observatory will grow to 300+ personnel and will be the first of its kind designed to detect and enable forecasting of ecological change at continental scales.
Summary: Reporting to the Director of Computing, the Software Quality Assurance Engineer will support the testing of scientific and business related software for the Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Team. This position is a hands-on position combining Software requirements analysis, test planning, test procedure development, and testing. Essential
Duties and Responsibilities:
* Participate with CI Team in the formulation of a testing infrastructure capable of meeting the software quality requirements for NEON’s scientific and business software.
* Sets up and performs quality tests, based on testing infrastructure, for highly complex software.
* Assist with the development of quantitative measurements and techniques for measuring software quality.
* Coordinate and collaborate with the Science, Business, and Cyber Infrastructure teams to develop and analyze software requirements.
* Design and implement a testing environment that allows integration and regression testing to be performed as quickly as possible and in a consistent, repeatable manner.
* Develop and maintain standards for the testing phase of the Software Development Lifecycle, from standards for capture and documentation of requirements to acceptable testing practices and deployment/production support procedures.
* Communicate and effectively articulate the trade-offs of quality and production support cost versus testing cost; and make judicious decisions based on advanced technical knowledge and previous experience.
* Coordinate and collaborate with the Cyber Infrastructure team to create and promote a Software Development process that allows ease of test planning and quality assurance at the earliest stages of development, and that will rapidly respond to the frequent changes associated with computing in a scientific environment.
* Select and test COTS and open source solutions to automate, to the maximum extent, software tests.
* Generate and maintain the software Requirements Verification Matrix in the DOORS requirements management environment.
* Participate in the establishment of software quality standards for life cycle, documentation, development methods, testing and maintenance.
* May review and evaluate software quality assurance products and services for applicability for NEON needs.
* Follow NEON information security confidentiality policy and procedures.
Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills:
* Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics.
* Five or more years’ experience on scientific and/or business software development/test teams.
* Intermediate to advanced knowledge of and experience with automated software testing environments and tools.
* Significant experience with application test planning and test development with particular emphasis in testing scientific data collection, data production, data analysis, modeling, and data publishing solutions.
* Expert level knowledge and experience with automated testing technologies.
Preferred Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills:
* Experience working in a startup environment.
* Experience with implementing automated testing technologies.
* Experience in testing scientific algorithms.
* Experience in developing Maximo test cases.
* Experience developing automated browser-based tests, e.g. Selenium, Quick Test Pro.
* Experience with Java development.
* Ability to get the job done within specified timelines, and on-budget in a high-pressure environment.
* Ability to communicate and present complex information clearly and effectively to a diverse range of audiences, including Senior Management, general employee population, scientists and academia.
* Ability to solve complex problems by applying experience, judgment, and creativity to both short‐ and long‐term challenge.
* Ability to stay on tight schedules while meeting budgetary requirements in a high‐pressure environment.
* Ability to work independently with little direction and/or supervision and in a team environment.
Term: This position will be a 2.5 year term assignment.
Must have permanent authorization for US employment. NEON Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply.
APPLY AT : WWW.NEONINC.ORG
Bridget A. Sorget
Sr. Technical Recruiter
