[6096] JChat Engineering Support

Start date: July 2026
Clearance: NATO Secret or equivalent
Location: Remote working


CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

For this consultancy, NCIA is looking for a supplier that is able to provide six experienced software developers who can be productive from the start with the maintenance of the existing JChat Java client software (based on Swing) and JChat web client software (based on Angular).

The proposed developers have proven knowledge and experience with XMPP Chat Client development in Java and Angular, development of Openfire plugins and M-Link server.

The proposed developers for this work each require the following qualifications (a lower level of experience in one of the criteria can be compensated by a high level of experience in another criteria; this applies for maximum of one developer and is for the Purchaser to judge):

• The proposed developer has a degree in informatics, computer science or a closely related engineering field.
• The proposed developer has a track record (at least five years) in software development using Java, including Java Swing and web development using Angular.
• The proposed developer is well able to produce efficient, clear, readable, maintainable and high-quality code.
• The proposed developer has a track record (at least five years) with development of chat related products based on XMPP, including but not limited to the implementation of XEPs, the M-LINK Server, the Openfire Server and the Openfire plugin framework, and troubleshooting XMPP communication.
• The proposed developer has solid experience with working with Scrum.
• The proposed developer has relevant and recent experience in continuous software integration and automated testing, including knowledge of test automation frameworks, using Maven, Jira, GitLab, Zephyr.
• The proposed developer has a flexible, cooperative and customer focussed attitude; sets high standards for quality and quantity; monitors and maintains quality and productivity; works in a systematic, methodical and orderly way.
• The proposed developer is able to speak and write fluent English since the work is conducted in English.
• The proposed developer has the nationality of one of the NATO nations.

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.

JChat has been developed by the NCI Agency to provide operators with a text-based asynchronous chat capability. Chat communication is used daily by the operators to pass information, coordinate operations, and support collaborative decision-making.

JChat is providing one-to-one chat, group (multi-user) chat and multi-user conferencing (moderated chat) and is based on Instant Messaging (IM) technology.

In order to support these activities, the C2 Centre is looking for a team of maximum six developers to augment the NCIA team.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this Statement of Work is to define the scope, deliverables, pricing, and governance for the delivery of new versions of the JChat Client and server software.

OBJECTIVES

The following objectives have been defined for this statement of work:
• Support the preparation of a new release of the JChat Java Client.
• Support the preparation of a new release of the JChat Web Client.
• Support the preparation of a new release of the JChat Openfire Server.
• Support the preparation of a new release of the M-Link server for JChat.
• Represent the JChat team in test events.
• Maintain the development pipeline.

SCOPE OF WORK

The scope is defined in terms of business outcomes and capabilities rather than detailed functional specifications. The detailed implementation shall be refined iteratively through the Product Backlog.