Software Engineer I-II

Associated Universities Inc. • Green Bank, WV

17h • $60,000 - $92,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is an exciting and prestigious research facility that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. The Observatory operates a variety of radio telescopes that span the globe, including the famous Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) across North America, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. These telescopes are among the most advanced in the world, allowing astronomers to explore the universe in unprecedented detail.
At NRAO, we are recruiting a Software Engineer to plan, design, and implement new systems to be initially used for the Radar project as well as projects in partnership with the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO). These systems will be used by both existing telescopes, namely GBT and VLBA, as well as new facilities such as next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).
This position ideally will be based either in Albuquerque, NM, or Socorro, NM but could also be based at our Charlottesville, VA or Green Bank, WV locations. For well qualified candidates, a remote work arrangement may be considered after one year of employment.
The primary focus of this position will be designing and developing cutting edge software for the Radar project, which will be used by the GBT, VLBA and eventually the ngVLA as part of the Common Domain Software group. This will include working with senior software engineers and stakeholders to refine requirements, designing systems and components to meet those requirements, performing trade studies, building prototypes, and producing documentation and reports summarizing your findings. Immediate activities may include (but are not limited to):
exploring messaging frameworks
profiling and benchmarking passing of data between telescope sites
building prototype backends for users to view shared data
This position will be directly involved in the early implementation and testing of key software features needed to support the Radar project, focusing on the system communication. The position will also participate in the full implementation during the construction phase.
Additional duties include:
the maintenance and necessary upgrades of the existing software to support operations
the development of new products to meet the challenges posed by the new observing paradigms necessary for the Observatory to remain at the cutting edge of science and technology.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, scientific or related field; highly relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a Bachelor's degree.
• The ability to communicate and collaborate with a diverse set of stakeholders about ongoing software activities.
• The ability to work with senior software engineers to produce a software architecture and design that meets stakeholder needs.
• Familiarity with messaging frameworks, such as Kafka, Pulsar, RabbitMQ.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Familiarity with at least one object-oriented programming language; Java or C++ are desirable.
• Experience with Python.
• Willingness and enthusiasm for learning new programming languages when they are best suited to a particular domain.
• Experience with version control software, testing methodologies, and CI/CD.
• Observatory employees must be authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• advanced degree in a related field.
• Experience with software engineering principles, working within an Agile framework, and experience in the complete product lifecycle are preferred.

Responsibilities

• designing and developing cutting edge software for the Radar project
• refine requirements
• designing systems and components to meet those requirements
• performing trade studies
• building prototypes
• producing documentation and reports summarizing your findings
• exploring messaging frameworks
• profiling and benchmarking passing of data between telescope sites
• building prototype backends for users to view shared data
• early implementation and testing of key software features needed to support the Radar project, focusing on the system communication
• participate in the full implementation during the construction phase
• maintenance and necessary upgrades of the existing software to support operations
• development of new products to meet the challenges posed by the new observing paradigms necessary for the Observatory to remain at the cutting edge of science and technology

Benefits

• AUI provides excellent paid time off (13 holidays, annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days and 15 sick days, additional time off for doctor/dentist visits, and 8 weeks of paid parental leave).
• Medical, dental and vision plans are effective on the first day of employment.
• AUI’s retirement benefit contributes an amount equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant’s base pay with no required employee contribution; we also offer an optional supplemental, tax-deferred plan for employee retirement contributions.

What This Job Offers

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