Feature-oriented development is applied successfully within product-line engineering (PLE), mainly for the design and implementation of software product lines. A product line consists of similar products that share lots of commonalities, but that also differ in their functionality and characteristics. The concept of features makes the commonalities and differences, i.e., the variability, in the product line explicit. The main advantages of PLE are the systematic reuse of assets and the customizability of the end product.

The goal of the bachelor or master thesis is to investigate how the concepts of feature-oriented development can be adopted for the model-based systems engineering (MBSE) in early spacecraft design. Here, variability modeling may help to quickly explore the design space and may enable a systematic reuse of models among similar spacecraft, e.g., satellite constellations or reusable satellite buses combined with different payloads.

Your responsibilities will include:

• The integration of product-line engineering into the MBSE process
• The prototypical development and integration of feature-oriented modeling in the MBSE tool Virtual Satellite
• Evaluation of the approach using a small-scale case study applying variability modeling

If you enjoy software development and want to become part of our team, we look forward to receive your application. We are looking for highly motivated colleagues who can identify with their work and inspire others. We also offer you the opportunity to contribute with your own ideas and to initiate new projects on your own responsibility. We offer an exciting, friendly, and flexible working environment.