Requirement: C2 Senior Software Developer Number 2 - NATO FORACS IDATS Software
Location: Remote, with occasional on-site work at NCIA The Hague (NLD)
Cost Not to Exceed: 23,580 EUR
Period of Performance: As soon as possible, but no later than 06 July 2026 - 31 December 2026
Required Security Clearance: NATO Secret
Please do NOT apply for any NATO contract positions unless you meet ALL the following criteria:
- Current National or NATO SECRET clearance
- Nationality of one of the NATO member countries
- Current work visa for the specific location if applying for an in-country position
State of Work
Introduction
The NATO Information and Communication Agency (NCIA) located in The Hague, The Netherlands, is the Interoperability Assurance Authority for NATO. In the light of this responsibility, the Assurance Solutions Branch (ASB) of the Chief Quality Office is looking for a service contract to provide NCIA with development of NATO FORACS IDATS software.
Objectives
The objectives below define the overarching outcomes the Contractor is expected to achieve through the delivery of the work packages described in this document. The Contractor is expected to align their approach, methodology, and resource planning with these objectives throughout the duration of the engagement.
- During the kick-off meeting the Contractor shall be assigned to the IDATS C2C project. The scope, priorities, dependencies, and initial backlog shall be reviewed.
- Maintaining and updating the development backlog, including progress reporting, comments, risk identification, and issue tracking. Utilising JIRA as the depository and planning tool. Ensure the documentation and maintenance of all produced deliverables.
- Participate in development sprints. Working on agreed JIRA tickets.
- Support FORACS Ranges in testing IDATS software either remotely or via on-site participation.
- Supporting formal knowledge handover sessions prior to contract completion to ensure continuity, maintainability, and long-term sustainability of the delivered solutions.
Coordination and development activities shall be performed remotely through secure access to NCIA systems using the unclassified development laptop provided by the NCI Agency.
The Contractor shall operate as part of a multidisciplinary development team following the SCRUM methodology. The scope, content, and acceptance criteria of each deliverable shall be defined by the Technical Leader and formally approved by the Project Manager. Completion and acceptance of deliverables shall include verification that adequate documentation and knowledge transfer activities have been performed.
Scope of Work
The Contractor shall provide e Contractor shall provide the following deliverables classified per service:
Service A - Kick-Off Meeting
Active participation in the project kick-off meetings with NATO FORACS Technical Lead.
- Deliverable: Project Kick-Off Meeting Report
- Output: Kick-off meeting report summarising the scope, priorities, dependencies, and initial backlog.
- Outcome: An agreed roadmap for software development which will lead to a software build release as directed by the project sponsor.
- Acceptance Criteria:
- The report includes key decisions, action items, and the Contractor's contributions. The Contractor's contributions support the clarification, improvement, or extension of the IDATS software
- KPI - Report Completeness: Inclusion of all required sections (decisions, actions, contributions). Target = 100%.
- KPI - Contribution Relevance Score (1-5): Stakeholder evaluation of usefulness of contributions. Target >= 4.0.
Reviewing and updating sprint planning within JIRA with the aim of achieving consistency and traceability of the sprint-based development period.
- Deliverable: Updated JIRA IDATS Software Tickets
- Output: An updated version of the JIRA IDATS Software tickets incorporating all required amendments and newly defined criteria covering the full IDATS sprint planning, presented in the agreed-upon format.
- Outcome: A finalised and fully aligned set of JIRA tickets for the planning of the sprint.
- Acceptance Criteria: All amendments and new criteria are included in the updated JIRA documentation; all conformance criteria are deemed testable by the project sponsor; the updated conformance criteria follow the agreed format consistently; the document is complete and ready for stakeholder review.
- KPI - Completeness: Percentage of the standard covered by the acceptance criteria list. Target = 100%.
- KPI - Testability Rate: Percentage of conformance criteria that are testable. Target = 100%.
- KPI - Format Compliance: Adherence to agreed template/format. Target >= 95%.
- KPI - Clarity Score (1-5): Stakeholder evaluation on clarity, readability, and structure. Target >= 4.0.
Active participation in the development sprints of the IDATS software.
- Deliverable: Sprint Development Period
- O utput: Weekly updates on development summarising the progress, priorities, dependencies, and remaining backlog.
- Outcome: An agreed completion of software development sprint as agreed with NATO FORACS Technical Lead which will lead to a software build release as directed by the project sponsor.
- Acceptance Criteria: The report includes key decisions, action items, and the Contractor's contributions. The Contractor's contributions support the clarification, improvement, or extension of the IDATS software.
- KPI - Report Completeness: Inclusion of all required sections (decisions, actions, contributions). Target = 100%.
- KPI - Contribution Relevance Score (1-5): Stakeholder evaluation of usefulness of contributions. Target >= 4.0.
Reviewing and updating the existing IDATS Software documentation (release/installation instructions) with the aim of achieving completeness and consistency.
- Deliverable: Updated IDATS Software Documentation
- Output: An updated version of the IDATS Software conformance criteria incorporating all required amendments and newly defined criteria covering the full IDATS documentation, presented in the agreed-upon format.
- Outcome: A finalised and fully aligned set of IDATS Software documentation conformance criteria ready for stakeholder use.
- Acceptance Criteria: All amendments and new criteria are included in the updated document; all conformance criteria are deemed testable; the updated conformance criteria follow the agreed format consistently; the document is complete and ready for stakeholder review.
- KPI - Completeness: Percentage of the standard covered by the acceptance criteria list. Target = 100%.
- KPI - Testability Rate: Percentage of conformance criteria that are testable. Target = 100%.
- KPI - Format Compliance: Adherence to agreed template/format. Target >= 95%.
- KPI - Clarity Score (1-5): Stakeholder evaluation on clarity, readability, and structure. Target >= 4.0.
Participation at NATO FORACS live test events as directed by the project sponsor.
- Deliverable: On-Site Operation of IDATS Software at NATO FORACS Ranges
- Output: On-site operation of the IDATS software to support the execution of NATO FORACS testing at FORACS ranges located in the USA, NOR, and GRC.
- Outcome: Consistent and reliable operation of the software, enabling successful execution of maritime tests.
- Acceptance Criteria: The IDATS software is operated reliably throughout the event's execution phase; interoperability tests are supported and executed as required; any operational issues are addressed promptly to maintain test continuity.
- KPI - System Uptime: System availability during the event. Target >= 95%.
- KPI - Average Issue Resolution Time: Average time to fully fix any operational issues. Target <= 1 hour.
- Travel Requirement: At least one member of the Contractor's personnel shall be present on-site at one of the FORACS ranges if requested by the project sponsor.
Each contractor personnel must meet the following requirements:
- At least 10 years of professional experience in the industry of software development.
- At least 5 years of proven knowledge of, and practical experience in, the operational or technical use of FORACS IDATS systems and software supported by NCI Agency.
- Proven experience in the design and test of secure message exchange protocols.
- Experience with and deep knowledge of electrical and data specifications for communication between marine electronics, such as NMEA and EMM.
- Practical understanding of the operations of maritime systems such as GPS, INS, Radar, Sonar, and Towed Array.
- Strong mathematical skills, as the work includes implementation and verification of complex calculations.
- Experience with and deep knowledge of message specifications for data links between combat management systems and external systems, specifically ANEP82.
- Practical experience in the area of computer networks and messaging security, including DNS, domains, PKI certificates, network designs, OAuth, and OpenID.
- Proven experience with and knowledge of NoSQL databases, MongoDB in particular, and also experience with Morphia for integrating MongoDB in Spring-based applications.
- Proven knowledge of, and practical experience in, modern test engineering and test management methods and paradigms.
- Proven up-to-date knowledge of computer system architectures, systems security, client/server, LAN/WAN and network concepts, test techniques, Database Management Systems (DBMS), and data management concepts.
- 5 years of programming experience in Java, JavaScript, and Angular.
- Recent experience with XML and JSON technologies.
- Willingness to work in challenging environments, including within confined spaces on board active warships and submarines.
- Must have the nationality of one of the NATO nations.
- Excellent command of spoken and written English.
