Job Opportunities at SARAO - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory

Purpose:

• The DevOps Engineer automates and supports the tools and processes relating to continuous delivery, integration and deployment for software packages, platforms, operating systems and infrastructure in the Digital Signal Processing Department within the Engineering & Technology Development Division.
• The DevOps Engineer works closely with and supports the various development teams within the Digital Signal Processing Department.

Key Responsibilities:

•  Develop, maintain and support the CI/CD pipeline of the group to enable continuous delivery, integration and deployment of the group’s products and applications
•  Develop, maintain and support the logging and monitoring stacks to enable system health status monitoring to support and improve reliability and quality
•  Manage, maintain and support the Compute and Network Infrastructure within the group in terms of supporting the design of new systems, deployments, technical configuration management, and ensuring required uptime
•  Participate in software design processes, across the entire life cycle, to improve quality, maintainability and robustness of delivered products
•  Provide operational support for the operation of Digital Signal Processing Compute and Network Infrastructure and participate in after-hours, on-call support as required
•  Driving the incident management processes and continuously implementing lessons learned to improve overall quality and reliability
•  Participate in the generation of technical system and product-related documentation applicable to the CI/CD pipeline, logging and monitoring stacks and Compute and Network Infrastructure to support the delivery and hand over of the Digital Signal Processing Group’s products

Key Requirements:

Qualification:

•  B.Sc (NQF 7) Computer Science or related with 6+ years relevant experience, OR
•  B.Tech (Eng) (NQF 7) Computer, Electrical or Electronic with 6+ years relevant experience, OR
•  B.Sc (Hons) (NQF 8) Computer Science or related with 4+ years relevant experience, OR
•  B.Eng/B.Sc (Eng) (NQF 8) Computer, Electrical or Electronic with 4+ years relevant experience; OR
•  MSc / M.Eng (NQF 9) Computer Science or relevant Engineering field with 3+ years relevant experience

Experience:

•  Experience as a DevOps / System Administrator OR as a Software Developer coupled with further education or training in DevOps and System Administration
•  Experience working in a high-performance computing environment is preferable
•  Configuration and management of CI/CD pipelines to support development and delivery of software products
•  Configuration and management of logging and monitoring stacks and frameworks for system health monitoring
•  Linux system installation, configuration and administration
•  Software development and scripting using the Python Programming Language
•  Deployment, upgrade and maintenance of Compute and Network Infrastructure
•  Working with workflow and issue management tools (e.g., JIRA)
•  Working with source code and version control tools (e.g., Git)
•  Being responsible for mission-critical pipelines and infrastructure

Knowledge:

•  Containerisation (e.g., Docker, Podman, LXD, ECS)
•  Orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes, Mesos, Nomad)
•  Infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Ansible, Puppet, Chef)
•  Distributed monitoring and alerting (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, Elastic)
•  Distributed logging (e.g., ELK stack)
•  Deployment (e.g., MaaS, FAI)
•  Virtualisation (e.g., Openstack, proxmox)
•  Continuous integration (e.g., Jenkins, Buildbot, Github Actions)
•  Distributed Storage (e.g., Ceph, Lustre, MinIO)
•  Knowledge of high-performance computing infrastructure
•  Knowledge of Ethernet networks

Additional Notes:

•  Desire to continuously learn, problem solve and acquire new skills with cutting edge technology
•  A clear and methodical approach to problem solving
•  A high attention to detail, excellent organisation skills
•  Good communication skills, written and verbal
•  Ability to effectively transfer knowledge and skills to other team members
•  Eagerness to develop a technical specialisation and expertise

Closing Date: 31 August 2024

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Key Responsibilities:

•  The Civil Engineer /Civil Engineering Technologist will be responsible for feasibility studies, design, supervising, monitoring, planning and controlling the development and implementation of the Civil and Structures departmental objectives on various projects.
•  Assist in technical planning, oversee, and review work of civil engineers, technologists, technicians, and graduates, providing specialist civil engineering support.
•  Manage engineering projects, engineering consultants and other specialist consultants as and when required.
•  Providing relevant information that allows the SARAO functional units to develop detailed project schedules on a continuous basis.
•  Take responsibility for design development and integration of project components, possibly supervising a small team for development delivery.
•  Demonstrate strong leadership qualities, proactiveness, and an organized, systematic way of working.
•  Ensure documentation rigour, quality, and adherence to development processes and quality systems, with effective planning and time management.
•  Exhibit excellent problem-solving and interpersonal skills, working independently and within a team environment.
•  Expertise in Roads and Stormwater Design, Water & Sanitation Design, structural analysis, and component sizing.
•  Capable of project management, developing and implementing revised/new work methods, compiling procurement documents, and writing technical proposals/documents using relevant design tools.

Key Requirements:

Qualification:

•  B.Tech in Civil Engineering with 6+ years; OR
•  B.Eng/B.Sc Hons in Civil Engineering with 4+ years; OR
•  M.Eng in Civil Engineering with 3+ years; OR
•  PhD in Civil Engineering with 3+ years; And
•  Must have an active ECSA registration as a Pr.Eng or Pr.Tech.Eng.
•  Valid SA Driver’s license

Experience:

•  Must have 4+ years design and implementation of Civil Infrastructure Projects (roads, building structures, water and sanitation)
•  Must have spent a minimum of 2+ years on site monitoring construction activities on site at a supervisory level (preferably as an Engineer’s Representative).
•  Production processes relevant to the functional area
•  Development and implementation of operational plans
•  Compilation of Procurement documents (Contract, tender, specifications and scope of work, schedules of quantities and drawings)
•  Project management
•  Planning, Feasibility Studies and Design of Civil and Structures Projects
•  Technical Guidance/Technical work for Functional Area – Design Reviews, OAR submissions and Witness and Approve Designs
•  Project/Financial Management – Schedules from PMO, Integrated project budgets, reporting. BOQ’s, Project Estimates and Specifications for various Bids and Projects.
•  Operational Support
•  Writing technical proposals/documents

Knowledge:

• Government procurement processes
• Supplier Management
• ISO9001 Quality System
• Knowledge of national and International standards where applicable i.e. SANS 1200, COTO
• Proven competence in the use NEC 4 and FIDIC Contracts
• Work methods, designs, policies and processes related to the functional discipline
• Design tools relevant to their functional discipline
• Proficient in AutoCAD Civil 3D a must
• Proven competence in the use of Prokon structural software or similar
• Proven competence in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe, Google Drive and other database software

Closing Date: 30 August 2024

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• The purpose of the role is to design, develop and analyze concepts analytically and numerically for time and frequency transmission via RF techniques over fibre as well as interfaces to associated equipment such as atomic clocks and radio astronomy receivers and digitisers ensuring high-precision time and frequency distribution.

Key Responsibilities:

•  Research and analysis to ensure that the developed time and frequency system meets or exceeds performance requirements, delivering high precision and reliability
•  Develop and design photonic systems for the transmission and distribution of precise time and frequency signals.
•  Utilize design software and simulation tools to create system schematics, perform circuit simulations, and optimize components.
•  Design of RF circuit schematics and PCB layouts.
•  Assembly and testing of RF photonic modules and RF photonic instrumentation, cabling and systems diagrams.
•  Perform lab-based and field-based testing using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and other diagnostic equipment.
•  Analyze test data to identify and resolve issues.
•  Document all design, testing, and optimization processes and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
•  Prepare detailed technical reports, user manuals, and compliance documentation.

Key Requirements:

Qualification:

• BTech Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Experience:

• Minimum of 4 years in an RF Engineering environment with a focus on Time and Frequency Systems

Knowledge:

•  Electronics
•  RF Hardware Design
•  PCB Design
•  Firmware Design
•  Test and Verification
•  System Engineering
•  Simulation Tools
•  Programming Languages (eg Python)

Additional Notes:

•  Excellent communication – both verbal and written, in English
•  Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
•  Efficiency in a high-pressure environment
•  Proactive
•  Capable of dealing with uncertain environments and reducing uncertainty
•  Proficient in Root Cause Analysis & Problem-solving
•  Strong decision-making
•  Attention to detail and a high level of accuracy in quality assessments.
•  Well-developed relationship and influencing skills
•  Ability to collaborate and work effectively within cross-functional teams.
•  Willingness to work outside normal hours
•  No constraints on ability to travel within South Africa and Internationally
•  Interacting with multi-disciplinary teams