TFDM Software Developer - Remote

** Citizenship requirements with active eligibility from government background investigation required **

Summary
The TFDM Program is an FAA NextGen program. TFDM capabilities are being incrementally deployed to provide efficiencies in the airport surface and terminal airspace by providing new integrated surface traffic control and management capabilities. TFDM functions include: Surface Collaborative Decision making (SCDM), including departure scheduler and other airport decision tools; Electronic Flight Data (EFD); Enhanced Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS); and replace or integration of multiple systems in the National Airspace System (NAS). TFDM shares data among controllers, aircraft operators, and airports so they can better stage arrivals and departures and manage traffic flow within terminal airspace for greater efficiency. Stakeholders have a shared awareness of flights on the ground and in the air, the ability to exchange data electronically, and a constantly updated picture of traffic volume and airport resources, which will help stakeholders to make flights more efficient from gate to gate.
This position requires a career level software engineer typically with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, scientific, or appropriate engineering discipline and two (2) years or more of relevant experience. The candidate shall be capable of working under general supervision and possess the skills necessary to work from specifications to develop or modify moderately complex software applications. The candidate may be asked to assist with design, coding, testing, software and system integration, and documentation of programs. The candidate shall be competent to work independently in most phases of software systems, but requires instruction and guidance in other phases. The candidate shall be familiar with FAA-STD-026A NAS Software Development Standard, or equivalent and be experienced with structured software development and modern software productivity tools and techniques. The candidate shall be able to code, update, and test TCM scripts and integrate the TCM scripts into a system.
Software Engineer Position Description
The Software Engineer shall possess the following technical skills:
Core Technologies:

• Ansible - Deep experience with playbooks, roles, custom plugins, callbacks, and inventory systems
• Python - Strong scripting, automation, and tool development
• Bash/Shell scripting - Complex build orchestration and system automation
• Linux system administration – Red Hat Enterprise Linux, package management, integration of Linux technologies, etc. Demands strong foundational Linux administration and management of the full lifecycle of systems from bare metal to operational deployment across multiple environments.
• Container technology - Podman/Docker, container builds, orchestration

Infrastructure & DevOps:

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices
• Configuration management at scale
• CI/CD and build automation
• Release management and versioning
• Git workflows and collaboration

Systems Knowledge:

• Network configuration (VLANs, IP schemes, switch configs)
• Physical hardware provisioning (PXE boot, kickstart)
• Virtual machine lifecycle management (VMware and KVM)
• Multi-environment deployment (dev/test/prod/lab)
• Package ecosystem management (RPM, pip, Ansible Galaxy)

The Software Engineer shall possess the following domain experience:

• Enterprise infrastructure management
• Mission-critical system deployment
• Multi-processor-type system architectures
• Air-gapped or classified environments

The following technical skills are desirable:

• Ansible best practices
• YAML templating and variable hierarchies
• Ansible vault and secrets management
• Multi-site infrastructure coordination
• Custom Ansible plugin development
• AI assisted development

The Software Engineer shall embrace:

• Systems Thinking

• Understand complex interdependencies (200+ Ansible roles, multiple processor types)
• Trace issues across numerous environment configurations
• See how changes ripple through the architecture
• Systematic & Methodical:
• Follow documented workflows (TCM verification, CAS validation)
• Test thoroughly before deployment
• Problem-Solving Approach:
• Debug across multiple abstraction layers
• Work within constraints of existing architecture
• Collaboration:
• Work with established patterns rather than reinventing
• Coordinate across multiple sites and environments

 
Location: Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Period of Performance: 6/30/2026 – 7/1/2027 with an option year. 

Travel, up to 25%, is required for this position. Travel will be to various airports across the United States as the TFDM system is deployed to 89 airports. The travel will generally be between 1 and 2 weeks per trip. A Public Trust, granted by the FAA, is required for travel. All Personnel must be able to obtain a favorable federal suitability adjudication, as a Public Trust clearance is required.