Head of Platform Engineering Division

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)—home of the Hubble, James Webb, and Roman Space Telescopes—is seeking a Division Head for Platform Engineering to enable modern, scalable, secure, and mission-aligned Engineering and Operations across the Institute. This leader will oversee a division composed of four branches spanning Agile Systems Engineering, Agile Integration and Test, Engineering Services and Standards, and Cloud, Kubernetes, and DevSecOps.

As one of the NASA’s science operations centers, STScI supports some of the most advanced scientific missions on the planet. You will provide vision, direction, and operational leadership for Platform Engineering as a core Institute capability for mission‑critical workloads that serve the global astronomy community.

This role is responsible for shaping strategy, aligning engineering practices across the organization, and ensuring that the platforms, methods, and enabling services used by engineering teams support both near-term execution and long-term institutional transformation.

This position is ideal for a leader with a strong software engineering foundation, broad familiarity with adjacent engineering disciplines, and a track record of leading organization-wide transformation in complex technical environments.

This role is hybrid with 3 days per week on‑site presence. Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to MD, VA, DC, PA, DE, or WV. Relocation assistance is available. U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency is required due to ITAR constraints.

• Provide the capabilities and support to enable modern, efficient software development, Engineering, and Operations across STScI.
• Lead the overall strategy, maturity, and execution of the Platform Engineering Division in support of Institute priorities, mission delivery, and engineering excellence.
• Foster an embedded, collaborative, knowledge sharing approach to supporting capability development teams in other divisions.
• Establish patterns and resources to support developer discovery and self-service, including an internal developer portal with common libraries, IaC, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Lead the execution and adoption of Cloud-first and Kubernetes-first strategies across the Institute, partnering with the Cloud Center of Excellence and IT on the framework, governance, and containerizing existing on-prem workloads.
• Drive integration of consistent DevSecOps practices and shared infrastructure across the Institute
• Lead the modernization, automation, and incorporation of Agile concepts into Systems Engineering and Integration and Test disciplines.
• Evolve and support the infrastructure needed to diligently integrate AI into business processes, information systems, and operational workloads
• Balance strategic transformation with practical execution, ensuring that divisional initiatives are realistic, measurable, and tied to operational outcomes.
• Champion organizational change management for new engineering methods, toolchains, and ways of working, with an emphasis on consistency, sustainable adoption, and measurable value.
• Partner with Institute leadership, program and project teams, science and mission stakeholders, and other engineering organizations to align platform capabilities and engineering operating models with mission and business needs.
• Develop and manage divisional goals, roadmaps, priorities, budgets, staffing plans, and operating metrics.
• Represent Platform Engineering as a senior leader across the Institute, helping shape policies, investment decisions, and long-range engineering strategy.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical field. Advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years leadership experience in software engineering, platform engineering, or a related technical discipline, including responsibility for managers and multi-team organizations.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale organizational, engineering, or digital transformation initiatives across multiple teams or departments.
• Experience establishing or scaling engineering platforms, toolchains, standards, and operating models that serve a broad internal engineering community.
• Strong understanding of Agile development methodologies, modern engineering collaboration models and internal developer platforms.
• Familiarity with Digital Engineering and Model-Based Systems Engineering concepts, practices, and standards such as SysML v2.
• Experience with engineering lifecycle traceability, testing and verification frameworks, and integration of Agile delivery practices with structured engineering controls.
• 5+ years experience with cloud-native architectures on AWS, Kubernetes-based platforms, CI/CD automation, and DevSecOps software delivery practices.
• Strong people leadership skills, including coaching leaders, developing organizations, setting direction, and aligning teams through change.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leadership, technical staff, and cross-functional partners.

• Experience in scientific, aerospace, research, government, or mission-driven technical environments.

The annual salary range for this title is $215,000 - $240,000.  The posted salary range represents a general guideline; however, STScI considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers, such as internal pay equity, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's experience, education, and skill, and current market conditions.

Candidates are asked to submit one PDF that includes a resume & cover letter in the resume section. The cover letter should address why the candidate’s interest and experiences are well suited for the role. Complete applications received by September 30th will receive full consideration. 

We offer an excellent and comprehensive benefits package, generous retirement, work life balance and a stimulating and diverse work environment. Explore our benefits: http://www.stsci.edu/opportunities/benefits

Individuals needing assistance with the employment process can contact us at careers@stsci.edu.