Software Engineer III

Associated Universities • CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA

7d

About The Position

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed and operated by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation, is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to join the Correlator team within the Monitor & Control group. The correlators combine signals from telescope arrays. The team supports the software ecosystem around the WIDAR and DiFX correlators, including input data gathering, configuration and control, output standardization, and cluster management. It also contributes to correlation-system design for the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).

The position focuses on designing, developing, and maintaining software that interfaces with correlator hardware and surrounding computing systems. The successful candidate will collaborate with senior software engineers, electronics engineers, and scientific staff to refine requirements, develop and implement solutions, document them, and support operations. Duties also include maintaining and upgrading existing software and developing capabilities for new observing modes and instrumentation. Prior radio astronomy experience is not required.

The position may be based in Socorro or Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charlottesville, Virginia; or Green Bank, West Virginia. A remote arrangement may be considered for well-qualified candidates.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, a scientific field, or a related field; highly relevant experience may be considered instead of a bachelor's degree.
• Three or more years of experience developing software applications.
• Depth in at least one of these areas and interest in developing in the other: interfacing software with custom hardware or instrumentation, device and network protocols, and real-time or low-latency Linux systems; or compute clusters, distributed or parallel processing, job schedulers, and high-throughput data handling.
• Proficiency in C, C++, and Python.
• Strong Linux skills, including networking and system-level troubleshooting.
• Experience with monitor and control, real-time data acquisition, or SCADA/industrial control systems.
• Experience with version control software, testing methodologies, and CI/CD.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including engineers and scientists.
• Willingness and enthusiasm to learn new technologies and programming languages.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States; the Observatory cannot sponsor H-1B visas for this position.
• Must be able to operate a personal computer and communicate effectively verbally and in writing.

Nice To Haves

• An advanced degree in a related field.
• Experience with technologies such as OPC UA and MQTT.
• Familiarity with Java.
• Experience with software engineering principles, working within an Agile framework, and the complete product lifecycle.
• Candidates with progressively more experience may be considered for a higher-level position.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain software to configure, control, and monitor correlator hardware, including low-level interfaces to custom hardware and the network and data paths connecting it to other subsystems.
• Support and improve cluster-based DiFX correlation, including job management, data flow, and performance on compute clusters.
• Diagnose and resolve hardware and software problems in collaboration with engineers and operations staff, including during observing.
• Prototype and evaluate interfaces and architectures for ngVLA correlator monitoring and control.
• Build tools for testing, simulation, and diagnostics, and produce documentation for users and maintainers.
• Maintain and upgrade existing software to support operations.
• Develop new capabilities to support new observing modes and instrumentation.
• Collaborate with engineers and scientific staff to refine requirements, design and implement solutions, document them, and support them in operations.

Benefits

• Paid time off, including 13 holidays and annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days.
• Medical, dental, and vision plans effective on the first day of employment, subject to eligibility requirements.
• A retirement benefit contribution equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant's base pay, with no required employee contribution.

What This Job Offers

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