{"id":1884409,"url":"https://alion.io/job/trident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer","title":"Principal Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Software Engineer","company":{"id":2311281,"name":"Trident Systems","domain":"tridsys.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/tridsys","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"ADP","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":82,"open_postings":5,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.6,"repost_share":0.2,"time_to_fill_p50_days":30,"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Sterling, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":111000,"max":206000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":206000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":9,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Asyncio","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"TCP/IP","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-28T18:02:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-28","last_verified_at":"2026-10-20T06:48:17Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":21,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":21},"description":"Position Title: Principal GSE Software Engineer\nRequisition ID: 1884\nPosition Location: Sterling, VA\nPosition Reports To: Senior Manager, Software Engineering\nSupervises Others: No\nAt Trident Systems, we believe that strong engineering principles are fundamental to driving innovation and solving complex problems. We promote a culture characterized by rigorous engineering practices and a commitment to continuous improvement. This is achieved by leveraging our organization's collective expertise through collaborative development processes, which include thorough design and peer reviews. We can deliver innovative, high-performance solutions that meet our customers' evolving requirements by integrating our specialized knowledge in aerospace electronic systems with appropriately scaled development methodologies.\nWe are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation effects mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.\nPosition Summary\nWe are seeking a Principal Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and evolution of the software platforms that control our automated electronic test and support systems. This role owns the technical direction and architecture of reusable software frameworks that serve both engineering development and production test environments.\nThe ideal candidate brings deep expertise in modern Python software engineering, asynchronous systems programming, hardware communications, and software architecture. You will define, build, and continuously improve the core GSE software platform that enables reliable, maintainable, and scalable automated test and support systems across multiple programs and product lines.\nYou will collaborate closely with the Lead Test Systems Engineer, Integration & Test engineers, the Engineering Systems Integration Engineer, and other cross-functional stakeholders to ensure the GSE software platform aligns with organizational needs and supports long-term engineering infrastructure.\nSuccess in this role is measured by:\nRobustness, stability, and maintainability of the core platform\nReliability and uptime of production test operations\nMeasurable productivity gains for engineering and test teams\nEffective reuse of frameworks across projects and programs\nThe ability to support increasingly sophisticated automated GSE and test systems\nWhat Makes This Role Distinct?\nThis is not a QA automation or web application role. The Principal GSE Software Engineer:\nDefines and owns the reusable software platform that powers automated electronic test systems and Ground Support Equipment.\nSets the technical direction and architecture for long-lived engineering infrastructure supporting multiple products and programs.\nOperates at the intersection of software engineering, hardware control, and systems integration to enable sophisticated, mission-critical automated test and support operations.\nIn this role, you will be the technical leader ensuring that our GSE software platform is robust, extensible, and capable of supporting increasingly complex automated systems-directly influencing engineering efficiency, product quality, and production reliability.\nDuties & Responsibilities:\nTechnical Leadership & Architecture\nDefine the overarching GSE software platform architecture, including standards, design principles, and best practices.\nDesign scalable asynchronous software architectures for concurrent control of instruments and support equipment.\nLead the development of reusable Python frameworks that underpin automated GSE and test systems.\nEstablish clear abstractions, interfaces, and patterns for instruments, communication buses, and test procedures.\nEvaluate and select tools, libraries, and technologies for the GSE software stack, providing well-reasoned recommendations and tradeoff analyses.\nFramework & Platform Development\nDevelop reusable instruments and communication abstractions that can be applied consistently across diverse projects and test systems.\nArchitect and implement execution frameworks for sequencing, scheduling, concurrency, error handling, logging, and health monitoring.\nDesign and build measurement acquisition, data processing, and results management software integrated with enterprise engineering tools and data systems.\nImplement robust configuration, deployment, and monitoring mechanisms for GSE software in both laboratory and production environments.\nSystem Integration & Cross-Functional Collaboration\nPartner with the Lead Test Systems Engineer to co-develop the framework architecture that underpins all automated test systems.\nWork with Integration & Test engineers to translate I&T requirements into reliable, maintainable automated test procedures on the GSE platform.\nCollaborate with the Engineering Systems Integration Engineer to integrate GSE software with enterprise systems (e.g., engineering databases, PLM, configuration management, data repositories).\nProvide expert support to production test operations, including diagnosing complex system issues, improving performance, and enhancing reliability.\nEngineering Excellence & Mentorship\nChampion professional software engineering practices, including code reviews, automated testing, CI/CD, documentation, and configuration management.\nMentor and coach software and test engineers in asynchronous programming, software architecture, and best practices for automated test and GSE systems.\nDrive continuous improvement in coding standards, design guidelines, and development workflows for the GSE software ecosystem.\nLead root-cause analysis efforts for complex GSE software issues and implement durable corrective actions that improve system behavior over time.\nRequired Qualifications\nBachelor’s degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related technical discipline.\n9+ years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree OR 7+ years with a graduate degree. \nExtensive professional experience developing software in Python. \nExpert-level proficiency with asyncio and concurrent/asynchronous programming paradigms. \nSignificant experience communicating with hardware devices (e.g., instruments, controllers, embedded systems). \nStrong background in software architecture and object-oriented design for complex or distributed systems. \nDemonstrated ability to debug, stabilize, and optimize complex software systems that interact with physical hardware. \nExcellent communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across disciplines including software, test, systems, electrical, and manufacturing engineering. \nExperience providing technical leadership or architectural direction for a software platform or framework.\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience with automated electronic test systems and Ground Support Equipment (GSE) in aerospace, defense, or complex electronics environments. \nHands-on experience with SCPI, PyVISA, serial interfaces, CAN, TCP/IP, and other common instrument/control protocols. \nBackground in manufacturing or production test environments, particularly those involving high-reliability or safety-critical systems. \nDegree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Technology, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a closely related field. \nProven track record developing reusable software frameworks or platforms adopted by multiple teams or programs. \nExperience designing systems for long-term maintainability, scalability, and reuse within engineering and production organizations. \nPay Information\n Full-Time Salary Range: $111,000 - $206,000\nPlease Note: Actual compensation offered will be determined based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, skills, education, certifications, internal equity, business considerations, and geographic location where applicable.\nBenefits\nHired applicants may be eligible for benefits including but not limited to:\nHealth benefitsMedical \nDental \nVision\nBasic life with AD&D\nShort term disability\nLong term disability\nAncillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)\nSpending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)\n\nPaid time off\nHolidays\n401(k) (including company match)\nTuition reimbursement\nLeaves (Parental, maternity, and military)\nAnnual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)\nTrident Systems reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position. \nTrident Solutions is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact .\nPay Transparency: The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)","description_format":"text","description_chars":9901,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":9,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Ground Systems","Artificial Intelligence","Military","Defense Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-05T01:29:48Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":61,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.811,"p_room":0.75,"age_days":21,"expected_fill_days":30,"reasons":["conf:2","velocity","win:late"],"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":206000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/trident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/trident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-20T16:23:28Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":18734,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":2311281},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=2311281"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Ftrident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Ftrident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Ftrident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/trident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Ftrident-systems-principal-ground-support-equipment-gse-software-engineer"}]}