Vacant Position – Pipelines Developer Nrf

Contract type: Permanent

Job Level: Skilled / Middle Management

Work Location: Cape Town, Western Cape

The National Research Foundation (NRF) supports and promotes research and human capital development through funding, the provision of National Research Facilities and science outreach platforms and programmes to the broader community in all fields of science and technology, including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities.

The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) spearheads South Africa's activities in the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope, commonly known as the SKA, in engineering, science and construction.

SARAO is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation and incorporates radio astronomy instruments and programmes such as the MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng, the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (AVN) programme in nine African countries as well as the associated human capital development and commercialisation endeavours.

Purpose: The Pipelines Developer works within the Pipelines Team in the Data Processing and Pipelines department to develop radio astronomy pipelines and data processing applications for ingest, calibration and imaging, alongside tools for testing functionality, performance and quality.

The Pipelines Developer contributes technically to all stages of the product or solution lifecycle from analysis and conceptualisation through to implementation, testing, deployment, verification, operation and maintenance.

The Pipelines Developer brings competency in either Radio Astronomy Pipelines & Data Processing, or in High-performance scientific computing and data processing to enable the development and delivery of various astronomy data processing applications.

The Pipelines Developer's contributions are primarily implementation and execution focused. The Pipelines Developer works closely with peers across functional engineering groups and key stakeholders to ensure satisfactory delivery of the Data Processing & Pipelines Department's systems and products.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Implementation of radio astronomy pipelines and data processing products for ingest, calibration and imaging functions that satisfy higher-level system functional and performance requirements.
2. Implementation of these products contains elements of science and algorithm analysis, software development, high-performance computing (HPC, GPGPU) and data structures and data formatting.
3. Support analysis, integration, verification and validation activities of radio astronomy pipelines products at various system levels.
4. Development of software to control, monitor, debug and support operation of the developed products and applications.
5. Follow and support the relevant Software Design Life Cycle and Systems Engineering processes for product development throughout the entire product or application lifecycle from conceptualisation through to decommissioning.
6. Support deployment, maintenance, upgrades, operation and decommissioning of developed products.
7. Participate in the generation of technical system and product-related documentation applicable to developed DSP products to support the delivery and handover of the Data Processing & Pipelines Group's products.
8. Participate in Research & Development initiatives within the domain of expertise to develop novel ideas for future products and contribute to the overall continuous development of the group.

Key Requirements:

Qualification:

1. B.Sc (NQF 7) in physics, mathematics, applied mathematics, or related applied / interdisciplinary sciences with 6+ years relevant experience, OR
2. B.Sc (Hons) degree (NQF 8) in physics, mathematics, applied mathematics, or related applied / interdisciplinary sciences, with 4+ years relevant experience OR
3. M.Sc degree (NQF 9) in physics, mathematics, applied mathematics, or related applied / interdisciplinary sciences, with 3+ years relevant experience OR
4. B.Tech (Eng) (NQF 7) in electrical / electronic engineering, with a focus on signal processing, or software engineering / computer sciences with 6+ years relevant experience OR
5. B.Sc.Eng, B.Eng degree (NQF 8) in electrical / electronic engineering, with a focus on signal processing, or software engineering / computer sciences with 4+ years relevant experience OR
6. M.Sc Eng, M.Eng degree (NQF 9) in electrical / electronic engineering, with a focus on signal processing, or software engineering / computer sciences with 3+ years relevant experience OR
7. Postgraduate (NQF 10) PhD in a relevant or related discipline such as radio astronomy or data and signal processing with 1+ years relevant experience.

Experience:

The ideal candidate is either:

1. A Software Developer, experienced in scientific computing or high-performance computing, with exposure to or an interest in radio astronomy pipelines and / or data and signal processing, OR
2. A Scientist / Science Developer with experience in Radio Astronomy and with fundamental software development experience.

Required experience for candidates with a Software Development background:

1. Experienced in software development in Python or other modern, high-level languages, as well as experience with scientific computing frameworks and libraries.
2. Experience with accelerated computing using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to implement accelerated and optimised variations of algorithms (advantageous).
3. Experienced in software development in a Linux-based and open-source driven environment.
4. Experienced in software development testing practices and Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery frameworks.
5. Experience working across many phases of the Software Design Life Cycle.

Required experience for candidates with a Scientist / Science Developer background:

1. Theoretical or practical experience in radio interferometry: calibration and / or imaging.
2. Understanding of signal processing techniques, algorithms and implementation.
3. Experienced in data analysis, signal processing and other related techniques.
4. Experience with common radio astronomy data processing packages such as Obit, WSClean, CASA, Myriad and the techniques they implement.

General Experience Required:

1. Scientific computing particularly related to data analysis, signal processing and data processing techniques.
2. Writing technical documentation describing the implementation and design of products, or the results of data analysis and scientific investigations at various technical levels.
3. Software development: Python (particularly for scientific computing, such as numpy), or C / C++.
4. Working with workflow and issue management tools (e.g., JIRA).
5. Working with source code and version control tools (e.g., Git).

Knowledge:

1. Understanding of radio interferometry and radio astronomy instrumentation (advantageous).
2. Signal processing.
3. Scientific data analysis and related techniques.
4. Software Development best practices.
5. Software Design Life Cycle.
6. Systems Engineering.
7. Software development and scientific computing using high-level languages.
8. Data curation, management, manipulation and transfer.

Additional Notes:

1. Desire to continuously learn, problem solve and acquire new skills with cutting edge technology.
2. A clear and methodical approach to problem solving.
3. A high attention to detail, excellent organisation skills.
4. Good communication skills, written and verbal.
5. Ability to effectively transfer knowledge and skills to other team members.
6. Eagerness to develop a technical specialisation and expertise.
7. Willingness to travel both locally and internationally depending on operational needs.

Information: The website provides more details on the NRF initiatives and activities.

Applications: Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by logging to and apply online. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of motivation indicating the applicant's suitability for the position. The names and contact details of at least three referees should be provided.

Closing Date: 03 April

The NRF offers a challenging career and competitive remuneration package which is commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The NRF is committed to employment equity and redress and the appointment to the position will be made in line with the NRF Employment Equity Plan. The NRF reserves the right not to make an appointment. Correspondence will be sent to short-listed candidates only.