Research Associate-Full Stack Engineer

San Jose State University Research Foundation
$87,000-$120,000 annually - Exempt, Benefited.
retirement plan
United States, California, Mountain View
May 03, 2025
OUR STATEMENT The San Jose State University Research Foundation (SJSURF) is committed to building a work environment where everyone can show up as their own self and have an opportunity to contribute, develop, and advance in their career. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are core values of the organization. We strive to attract, retain, and develop employees who reflect the community and society where we work and live. The Research Foundation aims to develop a culture where everyone feels welcome, shares their views, and where differences in backgrounds and perspectives are seen as adding value. GENERAL NATURE OF POSITION Our team is working on making the futuristic, UAS Traffic Management and autonomous air-taxi system from The Jetsons a reality. If you love building visually inspiring, data-driven, full-stack applications with React.js and Nest.js/Express, communicating in real-time via GraphQL, WebSockets, and RESTful APIs, then join our team on our spectacular mission! The Department of Psychology at San Jose State University is involved in collaborative research with civil service scientists from Airspace Operations Laboratory in the Human Systems Integration Division (HSID) at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. We seek a Junior Research Associate: Full Stack Engineer to collaborate on and engage in software development activities to further NASA's aeronautics research. Our team at NASA Ames Research Center is looking for a talented, creative, and dedicated individual to join our small team of developers, within a larger team of domain knowledge experts and researchers. Our developers work directly with researchers, designers, end users, human-factors participants, NASA management, and other stakeholders to ensure delivery of software meeting project objectives. Background or interest in autonomous vehicles, aeronautics, human-systems interaction, and/or control theory is useful/desirable. Having a passion to excel and contribute to team success is a must. We believe in collaborating and owning the entire agile application lifecycle-requirements, design, development, deployment, documentation, support, celebration, and fun! ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES Design, build, and test software for airspace-operations research. Integrate web-based applications and software solutions within our existing framework. Deploy custom software applications on desktop and mobile devices (e.g., tablet/smartphone). Own the full lifecycle software development on both the front and backend (requirements, analysis, design, implementation, integration, testing, support, and documentation). Work directly with researchers and project stakeholders to ensure proper software design and delivery. Attend daily stand ups, bi-weekly sprint meetings, and multiple cross-team meetings per week. Assist end users with use and troubleshooting of software. Assist with collaborative remote, on-site, and field experiments, possibly in different time zones. Other duties as assigned. INTERPERSONAL CONTACTS Reports to the project director. Interacts with NASA Ames civil service and SJSU Research Foundation staff, including student assistants, on a daily basis. S UPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES No supervisory responsibilities, though may be called upon for advice and direction by others. QUALIFICATIONS Education and Experience Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field (or 2 years of relevant job experience involving software development) is required. At least 1 years of software development is required. Understanding and practice of proven software engineering best practices (including OOAD, distributed systems, service-oriented architectures, SOLID principles, design patterns, etc.) is required. Experience with Typescript, or 1+ years in another OO language such as C#, Java, Objective-C/Swift, JavaScript ES6+ is required. Understanding of the strengths of SQL, NoSQL, KV, and other database types is required. Understanding of TypeScript / JavaScript ecosystems and tooling is required. Experience in software development and user testing in aviation-related research environments is required. Understanding of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS traffic management (UTM) is required. At least 1 years of experience with GraphQL, WebSockets/SocketIo, REST is preferred. At least 1 years of experience with Unity real-time development platform is preferred. Knowledge, Skills, Abilities Required Ability to prioritize tasks to deliver project milestones and meet project deadlines. Ability to work independently and take initiative in problem solving. Strong communication skills and ability to communicate and work with a diverse team of researchers, software developers, and stakeholder, in person and remotely, possibly in different time zones. Highly organized, self-motivated, and ability to think critically. Thorough understanding of programming principles and paradigms, such as OOP and MVC is required. Understanding of Agile methodology for software development is required. Knowledge of coding and security best practices is required. Willingness to work in a user-centered, design-driven development model is required. Dedication to quality and a positive, collaborative attitude and approach to development and testing is required. Extremely self-motivated; able to find opportunities for improvement and tackle them without external direction is required. Methodical and detail oriented, with solid analytical skills and problem-solving ability is required. Capacity and willingness to adopt new methodologies and skills in line with core responsibilities is required. Willingness to share knowledge and skills and willingness/ability to help train colleagues is required. Excellent written and oral communication skills is required. Proficiency in NX, codegen, VSCode extensions, debuggers, git, Postman/Insomnia, etc. is required. Proficiency with SOLID Principles and Design Patterns is preferred. At least 1 year of experience with E2E testing with Cypress is preferred. At least 1 year of experience with Storybook is preferred. Knowledge of SCSS, CSS, "CSS in JS" or other styling frameworks is preferred. Knowledge of CI/CD, Docker, Jenkins is preferred. Ability to work on-site (Mountain View, CA) is required. Ability to work effectively and efficiently in culturally and organizationally diverse research teams is required. Strong interpersonal skills are required. Physical Requirements Frequent and ongoing use of a computer terminal to conduct a variety of software development tasks. Strength, dexterity, and coordination and/or ability to use a computer keyboard and read a video display terminal on a regular basis. Work with time constraints and under pressure. Located at NASA Ames Research Center. Therefore, the employee must meet security qualifications for entrance to the Center, including an Agency background check. The location is equipped for full accessibility. Complexity of Duties Exercise independent judgment in the management and completion of a diverse set of concurrent tasks, including leading specific research and/or project management efforts. NOTE: This position description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities. The order in which duties and responsibilities are listed is not significant. BENEFITS The SJSURF provides an excellent benefits package to benefited employees. The comprehensive benefits package includes: Four company health insurance plans to choose from (employee contributions differ according to plan and level of coverage). Employer-paid dental and vision for both employee and eligible dependents. Life, AD&D, LTD with supplemental coverage opportunities. 14 paid federal & state holidays. Retirement Plan: 403 (b) employee contribution plan component and a 403 (b) employer contribution component, which vests immediately. Vacation-hour accruals and separate sick-hour accumulations. Employee discounts. Paid training and professional-development conferences. Please visit the Benefits & Compensation page on the SJSURF website for more detailed information. APPLICATION PROCEDURE To apply for this position, an applicant must submit a formal application for employment. Select "Apply Now" to complete the SJSURF online employment application. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION The SJSURF is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with physical or mental disabilities in the employment, recruitment, examination, interviewing, and hiring processes. If you are a job seeker with a physical or mental disability, and you require a reasonable accommodation to search, apply, or interview for a job opening or otherwise need a reasonable accommodation during the application and hiring process, please contact us at foundation-jobs@sjsu.edu. In the email message, please indicate your full name, phone number and the type of assistance required. You must not reveal the underlying medical reason for your needed reasonable accommodation or otherwise disclose confidential medical information. ABOUT THE SJSU RESEARCH FOUNDATION SJSURF employment is separate and distinct from San Jose State University (SJSU) or state of California employment. SJSURF employees are not employees of SJSU or of the state of California. SJSURF is a non-profit auxiliary of SJSU. SJSURF is totally self-supported. The majority of the organization's funding comes from the federal government, and other public and private entities. With annual revenues totaling over $65 million, programs managed through SJSURF cover a rich diversity of applied research, public services, and educational-related activities.