Location: Perth, WA, AU
Company: CSIRO
Acknowledgement of Country
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation
Role highlights
- Great opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge telescope technology
- Apply your software engineering expertise in a global science project
- Join a collaborative team shaping the future of radio astronomy!
About CSIRO
As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.
Visit CSIRO.au for more information.
The opportunity
The SKA Observatory (SKAO) is a next-generation radio astronomy facility that will transform our understanding of the Universe and fundamental physics. Our CSIRO Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) team plays a critical role in integrating complex digital and RF systems into the SKA-Low Telescope (located in remote WA) signal chain and verifying the telescope against defined requirements. This team works closely with international partners to deliver one of the world’s most advanced scientific instruments.
As a Software Engineer joining our dynamic AIV team, you will provide software support services for the SKA-Low telescope, focusing on the integration and verification of distributed software systems and associated hardware. Your work will include deploying solutions on high-performance computing (HPC) platforms, integrating data processing workflows, and supporting telescope operations during construction. This role offers the chance to work in an agile, globally distributed team environment.
You will bring strong experience in Python development and a solid background in deploying and supporting distributed software systems on HPC or cloud platforms. Familiarity with Linux environments and container orchestration tools such as Kubernetes will be highly regarded. Your ability to solve complex problems, collaborate effectively across time zones, and adapt to evolving project needs will be key to success.
If you’re passionate about software engineering and excited by the opportunity to contribute to a globally significant science project, this is a great opportunity to apply your skills and grow your career – so we would love to hear from you!
Your high-level duties will include:
- Proactively identifying, investigating, and solving complex problems spanning multiple software and hardware components, as part of a multi-disciplinary, regionally dispersed team.
- Integrating control and data processing software components in a self-managed Kubernetes environment spanning off-the-shelf and custom hardware.
- Designing and implementing system-level tests for integration and verification of the telescope.
- Assisting science users to operate the telescope during the construction phase.
- Developing control and/or data processing software for test environment and telescope components in Python.
Role particulars
Location and office arrangements: Perth (Kensington), Western Australia
Salary: AU$118K – AU$127K per annum plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure & work schedule: Indefinite – Full-time (preferred). Flexible arrangements of part-time (0.8 FTE) may be considered.
Reference: 98389
As the successful candidate, you will bring:
Essential:
- A bachelor’s or master’s degree relevant to Software Engineering, and/or equivalent work experience in a relevant field.
- Demonstrated post-graduate work experience in Python development within a collaborative environment.
- Demonstrated experience in developing and supporting distributed, multi-core data processing software running in Cloud, Scientific Computing or High-Performance Computing (HPC) platforms.
- Experience in deploying and operating applications in a Linux environment.
Desirable:
- Experience with Kubernetes or other container orchestration systems.
- Experience in developing Scientific Computing Software.
- Knowledge of real-time streaming or batch data processing pipelines.
- An interest in Astronomy.
For full details about this role, please review the Position Description.
Setting you up for success
We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact the Talent Acquisition Partner via email (see details in the Position Description) and let us know how we can support you.
Eligibility
Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, New Zealand Citizens, and Australian Permanent Residents.
Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements. Given the nature of the role, the successful candidate should also be able and willing to work flexible hours when required, and travel locally, nationally, and occasionally internationally as required for project needs.
Life at CSIRO and Flexible work arrangements
We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO.
Inclusion and belonging
Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.
CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.
Child safety
CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.
How to apply
Please apply online and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role. Please note that we strongly encourage you to respond to each of the selection criteria in detail, and attach it to your cover letter as ONE document.
Applications close
1 February 2026, 11:00pm AEDT