Research Engineer (53)

Employer:       National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Position:          Research Engineer (Req 53)

Location:         11800 Boxwood Estate Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903           

Duties:             Provide engineering and scientific leadership for the Observatory. Engage the astronomy community to determine current instrumentation capability gaps. Maintain an active independent research program which makes significant use of Observatory facilities to close the current instrumentation capability gaps. Consult, as a technical expert, with others in the Observatory and broader astronomical community. Contribute to the overall Observatory mission and work within a collaborative environment that promotes motivation, leadership, mentoring, and team building, in both scientific and functional areas. Lead and participate in scientific community outreach activities, public outreach and education activities and in broader impact activities. Ensure compliance with Observatory and government safety policies and procedures and demonstration of a commitment to promoting and sustaining principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Develop new devices, techniques, systems, and software capabilities for an Observatory telescope or set of telescopes. Develop calibration and testing capabilities for existing Observatory instrumentation. Track and characterize instrument performance and work with other software and hardware engineers and maintenance groups to identify and solve problems. Support the Observatory users in relevant areas. Aid in the design, development, and testing for future telescopes and/or telescope capability, including writing requirements, project oversight, testing, and/or commissioning of the instrument. Advise students and postdoctoral researchers through internal and external support.

Requirements: Doctorate degree or foreign equivalent in electrical engineering, physics, astronomy or a related field plus six years of experience. Experience must include: expert user of electromagnetic simulation design and analysis tools; radio astronomy reflector antenna analysis; and analyzing and testing unique radio astronomy requirements and specifications. Skill set does not need to be maintained over the full term of required experience.