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

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.

The Opportunity

• ​​​​​​Work at the Paul Wild Observatory, a world-class science and technology research facility
• Contribute your electronics skills to the intriguing world of radio astronomy
• Join CSIRO - Australia's National Science and Innovation Agency!

CSIRO's Space and Astronomy (S&A) manages CSIRO’s world-class facilities for radio astronomy and spacecraft tracking. Our space and astronomy research enables humanity to better understand the Earth and Universe. It contributes to solving the greatest challenges and building future industry.

Our radio astronomy observatories are collectively known as the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) and comprise radio telescopes in NSW and WA.

The Paul Wild Observatory near Narrabri is the location of the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), an array comprising six 22-metre high-performance dish antennas with receiver systems spanning 1.1GHz to 105GHz. We have commenced a major upgrade of the telescope’s entire data processing system, in a multi-million-dollar project called BIGCAT. 

We are seeking an Electronics/RF Technician to be part of the support team for the ATCA Observatory Operations and, together with ATNF staff at other sites to support delivery of major new instrumentation projects, including BIGCAT.  
You will provide technical support for complex digital, analogue and radio frequency systems. This includes cryogenically cooled low-noise receivers, local oscillator and conversion systems and precision timing systems.

You will be participating in planning for critical systems maintenance activities, fault finding and testing, and participating in the planning and deployment of new state-of-the-art instrumentation. 
You will be part of a small multi-disciplinary engineering team located on the Narrabri site but working at times within the broader ATNF technical team including at our Marsfield Headquarters to maintain operations and support new projects.
This is an opportunity to combine the advantages of a rural lifestyle with a role that presents unique challenges at a world-class science and technology research facility. 

Your duties will include:

• Monitoring system performance and maintaining the Observatory‘s RF and associated electronic systems, to ensure the highest levels of availability required for the National Facility.
• Undertaking fault diagnosis and corrective maintenance on a diverse range of specialised analogue and digital RF electronic equipment.
• Undertaking repairs to electronic equipment and modules down to component level.
• Proactively identifying potential spares issues or failure modes and working with external suppliers or staff at other sites to determine suitable replacement parts or alternative solutions. 
• Actively participating in planning and design of new instrumentation projects for the Observatory.
• Traveling occasionally to other ATNF sites to assist with installation and maintenance of electronics systems and to participate in project planning.  
• Participating in the Observatory on-call roster to attend to after-hours breakdowns, and work flexible hours as required. 
• Actively contributing to written and online documentation associated with equipment repair and maintenance, including management of system drawings and schematics, and configuration management.
• Other duties as required.

Location: Narrabri, NSW

Salary: AU$93,267 - AU$105,517 plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Indefinite

Reference: 96178

To be considered you will need:

Essential

• A relevant Electronics Certificate, Associate Diploma or equivalent in Electronics/RF Engineering with at least 3 years relevant experience. 
• Demonstrated experience in diagnosing and maintaining complex electronics systems and aptitude for advancing system knowledge.
• Experience with RF test equipment such as spectrum and vector network analysers, signal generators and associated test equipment.
• Proven ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary, regionally dispersed team, and to carry out tasks autonomously.
• Demonstrated experience with soldering, rework of PCBs and electronic modules as well as mechanical assembly.
• Willingness to travel to other CSIRO sites for training and professional development or to assist with the repairs, installation or maintenance of equipment. 
• The ability and willingness to work and access heights up to 30m above the ground. 
• Demonstrated commitment to safe work practices, environmental sustainability and the principles of equity and diversity.
• A current Class ‘C’ Australian driver’s licence (or equivalent).  
   

Desirable

• Practical skills demonstrating a mechanical aptitude.
• Experience with computer aided drafting (CAD). 
• Experience with data cabling including working with optic fibre installation and splicing. 
   

For full details about this role please review the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens or Australian Permanent Residents only. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

The successful candidate will be required to participate in the Observatory on-call roster to attend to after-hours breakdowns, and to work flexible hours, as required. 

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

1st April 2024, 11:00pm AEST/AEDT