R&D Software Engineer II - Telescope Mirror Systems

University of Arizona; Tucson (AZ); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 113,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Arizona is seeking an R&D Software Engineer II at Steward Observatory to develop software for mirror fabrication and metrology. The role spans real-time control, data acquisition, processing, and user interfaces, collaborating with scientists and engineers.

You will support the full software lifecycle, write robust code, and troubleshoot systems across hardware interfaces while traveling occasionally to vendor or observatory sites as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent four-year degree.
• Minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience.
• This position requires U.S. citizenship due to the federal contract.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, modify, and integrate software applications used in fabrication of large astronomical telescope mirrors.
• Develop software ranging from real-time control to data processing, GUIs, and web-based apps.
• Support full software lifecycle: requirements, design, testing, documentation, and maintenance.

Skills

C/C++

Python

MATLAB

Linux

Windows

Embedded hardware

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science

Tools

Delta Tau PMAC

Raspberry Pi

Teensy/Arduino

Job description

University of Arizona is seeking an R&D Software Engineer II at Steward Observatory to develop software for mirror fabrication and metrology. The role spans real-time control, data acquisition, processing, and user interfaces, collaborating with scientists and engineers.

You will support the full software lifecycle, write robust code, and troubleshoot systems across hardware interfaces while traveling occasionally to vendor or observatory sites as needed.