Software Engineering Lead supporting NASA Ames through Amentum, 2022–2025.
Research software & systems integration
NASA Ames Thermophysics Software
Software across technical boundaries.
From December 2022 through September 2025, Brian worked as Software Engineering Lead supporting NASA Ames through Amentum. His work connected private document analysis, numerical software, controls, instrumentation and data-acquisition integration with documentation and technical review.
Public role account · Three detailed project records
2022–25software and integration work via AmentumLocalLLM, NLP and retrieval workflowsPLCscontrols and high-speed data-acquisition interfacesReviewdocumentation and readiness support
Local-AI analysis, numerical software and controls, instrumentation and data-acquisition interfaces.
Software, interface assumptions and review evidence were coordinated toward technical-review readiness.
Three public-safe project accounts, a public CV role record and institutional context.
01 / The difficult question
How do you review software spanning documents, computation and hardware?
Thermophysics research software sits between disciplines. Information must move from technical documents into analysis, from numerical models into operational interfaces and from software into controls, instrumentation and data acquisition.
The engineering question was how to make those boundaries explicit enough for integration, documentation and technical review without losing the pace required by research work.
02 / Brian's contribution
Connect analysis, numerical software and integration evidence.
Brian developed AI-assisted document-analysis, information-extraction and knowledge-management workflows using local language models, NLP and retrieval. He built numerical software and communications infrastructure connecting PLCs, controls, instrumentation and high-speed data acquisition.
He coordinated software and hardware integration, documentation and technical reviews supporting Critical Design Review and System Integration Review readiness.
03 / How the system works
01Technical sources
Organize documents, requirements and research context.
→02Analysis & models
Extract information and implement numerical software.
→03Integration
Connect communications, controls and instrumentation.
→04Review evidence
Document interfaces, decisions and readiness.
The visual remains intentionally abstract: it explains the engineering boundaries without naming facilities, systems, interfaces or operational performance.
04 / Interface discipline
The handoff is part of the software.
Research code becomes a systems problem when values, timing, ownership and failure behavior cross between software and hardware. Integration work therefore included communications infrastructure, documentation and technical coordination—not only application code.
AI-assisted document work used local models and retrieval in support of analysis and knowledge management. This page does not disclose source documents, prompts, model artifacts or internal operational content.
Review readiness
Trace evidence across technical interfaces.
RequirementsInterfacesEvidenceDocumentsextractdefineciteSoftwaremodelconnecttestIntegrationverifycoordinatereview
Deliverables across technical boundaries
Local-AI workflows, numerical software, controls interfaces, integration documentation and review evidence were coordinated across a mixed research environment.
Document the handoffs while building
Review readiness is strongest when interface assumptions, data movement and failure states are recorded during implementation—not reconstructed at the end.
Scope & limitations
Public role account with institutional boundaries.
The linked project accounts add approved technical detail while omitting facility names, unnecessary internal system names, unsupported performance figures, operational details, internal documents and screenshots.
This was work supporting NASA Ames via Amentum. The page does not imply NASA or Amentum endorsement of Brian Theory, this consulting site or any present service offering.
Inspect the evidence
Public role record and institutional context—nothing operational.
01NASA Ames (Via Amentum) role in the current public CVFirst-person role record →02PROFINET Data Path EngineeringDetailed project account →03Local Multi-Agent AIDetailed project account →04Quasi-1D Thermophysics ModelingDetailed project account →05NASA Ames Exploration Technology DirectorateOfficial institutional context ↗06Fractional Applied AI and R&D DirectionRelated consulting capability →
Useful when
Your R&D team must connect research, numerical methods, hardware interfaces and review evidence across disciplinary boundaries.
Explore fractional R&D direction →