Senior Astronomical Instrumentation Engineer

GMTO Corporation; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k)

Dental Insurance

Disability Insurance

Job summary

Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation seeks an Instrumentation Engineer to lead GMT instrument development across design, construction, and commissioning phases. You will be the primary technical contact between instrument groups and the Project Office, guiding technical solutions and interfaces while coordinating with GMT Systems Engineering.

The role requires travel to GMTO member locations, vendor premises, and the GMT site in Chile.

Qualifications

• M.S. degree in Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years post-degree experience in astronomical instrumentation on ground-based optical/IR telescopes.
• Broad technical competency in astronomical instrumentation.
• Ability to communicate with diverse scientists, engineers, and managers.
• Excellent organizational, leadership, and project management skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Experience creating RFPs, statements of work, technical specs, and vendor evaluation procedures.
• Experience developing costs and schedule estimates.
• Thorough understanding of systems engineering principles.
• Experience creating integration, testing, and commissioning plans.
• Experience deriving technical and operational requirements from higher-level specs.

Responsibilities

• Guide the instrument program for GMT with the Science Instruments Manager.
• Serve as the technical contact between instrument groups and the Project.
• Assist in preparing contract documents (RFPs, SOWs, specs) with GMTO Contracts/Procurement.
• Monitor progress of instrument teams across all development phases.
• Oversee instrument assembly, integration, and test at partner sites and telescope.
• Deliver presentations at technical reviews and conferences.
• Evaluate cost and schedule estimates for technical feasibility.
• Assist teams in assessing instrument performance, maintenance, and operations.
• Specify and develop interfaces for instruments and GMT systems.
• Support integration, test, and commissioning plans with instrumentation teams.

Skills

Communication

Leadership

Project management

Organizational skills

Written and oral communication

Education

M.S. degree in Engineering

PhD in Engineering

Job description

Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation seeks an Instrumentation Engineer to lead GMT instrument development across design, construction, and commissioning phases. You will be the primary technical contact between instrument groups and the Project Office, guiding technical solutions and interfaces while coordinating with GMT Systems Engineering.

The role requires travel to GMTO member locations, vendor premises, and the GMT site in Chile.