2024-0087 Desktop Application Software Developer (NS) - THU 11 Apr

Deadline Date: Thursday 11 April 2024

Requirement: Desktop Application Software Developer

Location: Off-Site

Note: Please refer to your Subcontract Agreement, article 6.4.1.a, which states “Off-Site Discount: 5% (this discount is applicable to all requirements, and applies when the assigned personnel are permitted to work Off-Site, such as at- home)". Please be sure to price this discount in your overall price proposal when submitting bids against off-site RFQs

Required Start Date: 15 May 2024

End Contract Date: 31 December 2024

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

1 INTRODUCTION

The NATO Information and Communication Agency (NCI Agency) located in The Hague, The Netherlands, is currently involved in the development of new capabilities for NATO as well as in the support of existing capabilities. In the light of these activities, the C2 Centre is looking for an experienced software developer.

More specifically, the work will support the full software development cycle of TOPFAS.

2 SCOPE OF WORK

Under the direction of the NCI Agency project team, the software developer will develop and update TOPFAS software modules. This includes the following activities:

• Implement and review software changes as required using Azure DevOps.

• Support the development of the front-end application and back end services.

• Support bug fixing and stability improvements.

• Create and update documentation.

• Create and implement (automated) test cases.

• Investigate which are the best ways to solve a certain problem, documenting and presenting their pros and cons to the team.

The development work will be carried out accessing remotely the NCIA engineering facilities.
The contractor will be part of a team (project manager, technical lead, software developers, etc.) and will work using an Agile and iterative approach using multiple sprints. Each sprint is planned for a duration of 2 weeks. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed with the project manager and the technical lead during the sprint-planning meeting.

3 DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILETONES

The following deliverables are expected in 2024 from the work on this statement of work:

Deliverable 01: Sprints for TOPFAS software development

Quantity: 14

Payment Milestones: After each sprint completion

Estimated Start Date: May 2024

End Date: NLT 31 Dec 2024

Each sprint is planned for a duration of 2 weeks. At the end of each sprint, a detailed report of the activities conducted should be submitted.

For 2024, additional sprints may be requested under the same scope, conditions and constraints.

Deliverable 01: Sprints for TOPFAS software development

Quantity: Up to 5

Payment Milestones: After each sprint completion

Estimated Start Date: N/A

End Date: NLT 31 Dec 2024

For 2025, additional sprints may be requested under the same scope, conditions and constraints.

Deliverable 01: Sprints for TOPFAS software development

Quantity: Up to 25

Payment Milestones: After each sprint completion

Estimated Start Date: January 2025

End Date: NLT 31 Dec 2025

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of options, based on the same scrum deliverable timeframe and cost, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements.

4 COORDINATION AND REPORTING

The contractor shall work off-site.

The contractor shall participate in daily status update meetings, sprint planning, sprint retrospectives and other meetings, in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to project manager’s instructions. The camera feature should be used at all times.

For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable:

1. the contractor must report the progress of his/her work and any impediments during the sprint daily meetings;

2. the contractor should report verbally the work completed during the sprint review;

3. the contractor should prepare a demo of the work completed and present it to the team during the sprint demo meeting;

4. the contractor should send within three (3) days after the sprint’s end date a written report. The format of this report shall be a short email to the project manager mentioning briefly the work held and the development achievements during the sprint.

5 SCHEDULE

This task order will be active immediately after signing of the contract by both parties.

Period of performance: 2024: 15 May 2024 - 31 December 2024.

Option 2025: 01 January - 31 December 2025.

6 SECURITY

The security classification of the work will be up to NATO SECRET.

7 CONSTRAINTS

All the documentation provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates or agreed with project point of contact.

All scripts, documentation and required code will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided NCI Agency tools.

8 PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The contractor may be required to travel to other sites within NATO for completing these tasks. Travel arrangements will be the responsibility of the contractor and the expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of AAS Framework Contract and within the limits of the NCIA Travel Directive.

This work must be accomplished by ONE contractor.

The contractor will work under NCI Agency AAS Framework contract (CO-115786-AAS+) for the NCI Agency in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Requirements

9 QUALIFICATIONS

The consultancy support for this work requires a software developer with the following qualifications:

• A currently active NATO SECRET security clearance
• University degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent
• More than 10 years of experience as Software Developer, in which at least 5 are in C#
• Strong experience in Microsoft desktop (WinForms) application development
• In depth knowledge of C#
• Proficient with third party UI frameworks like DevExpress (preferred) or others
• Solid understanding of async programming / multi-thread applications
• Strong knowledge of OO principles and patterns
• Experience with HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3 a plus
• Familiarity with Microsoft stacks and technology
• Experience with Git version source control
• Basic knowledge of SQL Server and database querying
• Preferably, experience with Azure DevOps
• Preferably, experience with Playwright or other test automation tools.

Relevant soft skills:

• Very good communication skills, both spoken and written, in English.
• Very good presentation skills, taking in consideration the target audience.
• Team player, always willing to help others and to share knowledge.
• Good collaboration skills, with the ability to work in a multinational and diverse team
• Growth mind set, always wanting to improve and to learn.