CfAI Senior Systems Engineer

Durham University; North East; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious educational institution in North East England seeks a Senior Systems Engineer to join their Centre for Advanced Instrumentation. In this role, you will lead systems engineering efforts on groundbreaking instrumentation projects for the Extremely Large Telescope, coordinating a multidisciplinary team. The position offers opportunities for significant professional development amidst a thriving academic community. A degree in engineering or physics, alongside proven systems engineering experience, is mandatory.

Benefits

30 days annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Cycle-to-work scheme

Discounts on various services

Support for relocation

Qualifications

• Proven systems engineering experience in complex optical or near-infrared systems.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams is essential.
• Capability to develop overall system architectures and manage compliance.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for requirements engineering and system architecture.
• Lead assembly, integration, verification, commissioning of products.
• Provide expert advice on analysis and interpretation of complex data.

Skills

Systems engineering

Optical instrumentation

Project management

Communication skills

Team leadership

Education

Degree in applicable engineering subject

Masters / PhD in relevant discipline

Tools

Microsoft 365 applications

JIRA

DOORS

Job description

We welcome applications from candidates with disabilities, neurodiversity and long‐term health conditions, and we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process.

We will make adjustments to support the recruitment and interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

If you are unable to complete your application via our recruitment system or would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments to support you in the application process, please get in touch with us at [e-mail]

Job Number

26000028

Position Title

CfAI Senior Systems Engineer

Department

Department of Physics

Employment Type

Fixed Term - Full Time

Contract Duration

12 months

Working Arrangements

TBC

Closing Date

16-Feb-2026, 11:59:00 PM

Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement

Not Applicable.

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.

We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page.

The Role and Department

The Centre for Advanced Instrumentation (CfAI) is a major research group in the Department of Physics at Durham University with approximately seventy staff and research students. Developing state‐of‐the‐art instruments for use in astronomy, biophysics, remote sensing, fusion diagnostics and much more, CfAI undertakes a world‑leading programme of education and research with international impact, based on the development of novel instrumentation and cutting‑edge technologies with applications across a range of strategically important scientific areas of benefit to modern society.

Our group is distributed across two physical locations: The Department of Physics located in Durham itself, and a dedicated technology facility based at NETpark in nearby Sedgefield, providing access to advanced technical facilities for the assembly and test of complex instrumentation.

CfAI has provided major instruments for many of the world’s leading astronomical facilities including the James Webb Space Telescope, William Herschel Telescope, Gemini Telescopes, Southern African Large Telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. Major current ground‑based instrumentation projects in CfAI include HARMONI and MOSAIC, the first‑light spectrograph and multi‑object spectrograph for the upcoming 40m diameter Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This will be the world’s largest optical telescope, enabling observations of the faintest and most distant objects in the Universe in unparalleled detail.

The Role

We are seeking a systems engineer with proven systems engineering experience as an accomplished, practising Systems/Project Engineer to work on an opto‑mechanical ground‑based instrumentation project for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). In addition to being an accomplished design engineer in a primary engineering discipline (optical, mechanical, electronics, control, and/or software engineering), you will have proven experience of leading an international multidisciplinary engineering team. Typically, our projects involve international consortia, mainly based in Europe, and some level of domestic and international travel should be anticipated.

As a Senior Systems Engineer, you will be a key player and will be part of the project management team. You will be responsible for the requirements engineering, the overall system architecture, the coordination of assembly, integration, verification, installation, commissioning and delivery of our astronomical and scientific products. Working as a senior member of the team, you will have the freedom to define, control and execute your own work plan without the need to be supervised and you will have many opportunities to innovate and develop new technical solutions, with considerable scope to be creative.

The preferred location for this role is at our Lower Mountjoy facility situated in Durham.

Working at Durham

• You’ll receive 30 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
• We offer a generous pension scheme, and as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have ample parking across campus, a cycle‑to‑work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies. You can also take advantage of our cost‑effective and environmentally friendly Tusker Car Benefit Scheme, allowing you to lease a brand‑new electric or hybrid vehicle with savings on tax and National Insurance.
• We have a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• We provide wide‑ranging health and wellbeing support including discounted membership for our state‑of‑the‑art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24‑7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Our on‑site nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and you can access holiday camps for children aged 5‑16.
• Our family‑friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• We offer all staff the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
• You can access exclusive discounts via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, eating out and days out at various attractions.
• Various salary sacrifice schemes are also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
• If you are moving to Durham, you may be eligible for help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest‑free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential, and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.

As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under‑represented in our workforce including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Experience

• Degree in an applicable engineering subject area (Optical, Mechanical, Electronics, or Software), Physics degree, or equivalent experience
• Professional practitioner with proven systems engineering experience including architectural design of complex optical and/or near‑infrared instrumentation systems. *
• Experience of participating in networks to share and discuss good practice and develop strong and productive working relationships.
• Expert knowledge and expertise in systems engineering of optical instrumentation combining inputs from multiple areas of technical specialism.
• Experience of the application of engineering best practice to create, build, construct, analyse and realise new and innovative scientific instruments.
• Proven experience in leading the technical work of multidisciplinary engineering teams. *
• Experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues.

Skills / Abilities / Knowledge

• Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.
• Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including Microsoft 365 applications and task and requirements management software packages (e.g. JIRA, DOORS).
• Committed to continuing professional development to maintain professional recognition.
• Ability to prioritise, solve problems and decide on and plan appropriate solutions.
• Ability to contribute to planning at operational and strategic levels.
• Extensive knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines.
• Knowledge of optical and near‑infrared instrumentation requirements and compliance methodologies.
• Knowledge of optical and near infrared instrumentation technologies.
• Ability to define and control internal and external interfaces of scientific instruments.
• Experience in developing integration and test plans to verify compliance with sub‑system and instrument requirements.
• Experience in applying end‑to‑end systems analyses and modelling and the subsequent allocation and management of technical budgets/tolerances.
• Ability to develop overall system architectures to satisfy high‑level functional and performance requirements.
• Masters / PhD in a relevant engineering/scientific discipline (or equivalent experience).
• Experience taking overall responsibility for the flow of information within the CfAI project team and with the external stakeholders.
• Ability to engage in high level communication with senior staff and external organisations.
• Experience of requirements engineering.
• Experience of planning and undertaking verification testing and acceptance at sub‑system level.
• Experience of conducting technical risk and safety assessments.
• Experience in product and quality assurance procedures.
• Professional experience of a primary engineering discipline used within optical and near infrared instrumentation (e.g. optical, mechanical, electronics, control, software).

How to Apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria. Please don’t forget to check if there are any weighted criteria.

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

We prefer to receive applications online.

We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What you need to submit

• A CV.
• A supporting statement which outlines how you meet all the criteria within the Person Specification.

To discuss the role or for any further information please contact Professor Tim Morris – [e-mail].

Responsibilities

• Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and the University’s values.
• Develop and promote an in‑depth understanding of University policy and external developments relevant to your role.
• Ensure that policy and regulatory standards are met by compliance with Project processes and standards that specific to the services you are responsible for.
• Use your professional knowledge and experience as a Senior Systems Engineer to translate system requirements and define test and verification plans and conduct system analysis and provide subject‑matter expertise and advice.
• Provide specialist advice on the analysis and interpretation of complex data and information relevant to your area.
• Responsible for operational activity across instrumentation projects.
• Look for ways to continually improve services and take a lead role in the development and implementation of assigned policies, processes and standards.
• Instigate and manage business process reviews to improve the service in your area.
• Ensure data (commercially sensitive and/or personal) is appropriately stored and managed.
• Implement and audit specialist risk assessments and safety procedures to ensure compliance with University and statutory regulations.
• Manage and monitor individual and overall health and safety assessments and procedures, ensuring compliance.

Planning and Organisation

• Contribute to the development of operational and strategic‑level plans relevant to your area.
• Scope, plan and implement large‑scale/University‑wide initiatives.
• Provide oversight for short term/temporary project teams.
• Ensure projects deliver agreed objectives while solving any problems which are encountered.
• Allocate and monitor designated budgets, expenditure and resources where applicable.

Teaching and Learning Support

• Work within a teaching or research area of activity of national significance.
• Contribute expert advice and guidance, collaborating with peers and academics to deliver teaching and/or research outputs.
• Assess and design modifications and implement developments to deliver desired outputs.
• Lead, design and deliver practical workshops, teaching and training sessions.
• Ensure continuous improvement and knowledge base development for world‑class delivery.
• Liaise with academic staff to build and maintain high‑quality specialist support to underpin excellence in teaching, research and learning.
• Deliver professional expertise with the design, construction and development of investigative methodologies to achieve teaching, research or learning objectives.
• Identify, source and manufacture resources, materials, instruments, equipment and software critical to research delivery and suggest and obtain alternatives where necessary.
• Contribute creativity and innovation to the teaching and research delivery process and outcomes.
• Take responsibility for supervising experimental procedures and processes out of normal programmed sessions, monitoring variables, capturing and analysing data and interpreting patterns.
• Deliver the planning, design and implementation of research outputs and prepare innovative teaching / research proposals.
• Lead on activities and participate with others to generate external income, including involvement in research proposals.
• Influence University policy and standards by leading operational business meetings, working groups and sub‑committees.
• Provide professional guidance and advice when managing systems engineering services (including teaching and research where relevant).
• Design and deliver training to your stakeholders to support their development and information.
• Create positive working relationships, including internal and external networks, using your networks to increase your knowledge and skills, swap information with peers and positively influence the University’s reputation.
• Represent the service and the University at promotional events.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Useful Links

If you would like further information you may find the following will help.

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When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.