Computer Engineer

Smithsonian Institution • Cambridge, MA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Submillimeter Array (SMA), located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, is a pioneering radio-interferometer designed for astronomical observations in the major submillimeter atmospheric windows. Its eight antennas are equipped with superconducting mixer receivers operating in the 200 - 400 GHz frequency range. Duties listed at Full Performance Level GS-14.

Requirements

• A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor’s degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
• OR B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
• 1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
• 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
• 3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
• 4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor’s degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not allinclusive.)
• Specialized Experience: In addition to the Basic Requirements, applicants must have specialized experience. Grade 14: To qualify for the Grade 14 level, applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience (Federal or other) equivalent to the GS-13 level that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position. This specialized experience must include a minimum of 10 years of professional expertise in developing, maintaining, and optimizing software for scientific operations, including real-time and user-facing aspects, for a world-class observatory. Qualified candidates will have extensive experience in the programmatic control of antennas, telescopes, correlators, and associated high-precision instrumentation, ensuring the seamless integration and performance of complex astronomical research systems.
• This position has a mandatory education requirement; you must furnish a copy of your transcript of college work completed (unofficial copy is acceptable) or a copy of your degree certificate. Non-submission may result in you being rated ineligible for the position.
• Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain monitoring and control systems for observatory operations which are primarily written in C and running on Linux and Unix like systems
• Modify observatory control tools to improve system stability, robustness, automated fault detection
• Design, develop, maintain, and enhance the SMA-X message-passing interface using Redis to support communication between distributed observatory software components.
• Lead systems-level software design and implementation of the SMA upgrade roadmap to improve observing capacity, operational efficiency, and overall system performance
• Lead the development of next generation data formats and software tools to support interoperability and joint analysis with other observatories, including ALMA and NOEMA
• Lead the adoption and implementation of software engineering best practices, including version control, code reviews, CI/CD, automated testing, and GitHub-based development workflows.
• Establish and maintain standardized repository structures, coding standards, data-sharing protocols, APIs, build systems, deployment procedures, and development tools.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
• Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent.
• Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior