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Advert. no. 2018_0033
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Working at ESO

Are you interested in working in areas of frontline technology and in a stimulating international environment? Do you feel your profile matches our requirements? Learn more about our current vacancies and apply online. Read more..

The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries.

ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in northern Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor (home to ALMA and APEX), and the ESO Headquarters are located in Garching, near Munich, Germany.

At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky" and whose operations will be fully integrated into the Paranal Observatory.

 

Due to the need for additional resources associated with the ELT programme, for its Control Software and Engineering Department (CSE), within the Directorate of Engineering (DoE) at its Headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany, ESO is advertising positions of

Software Engineers

(four positions)

Garching

Vacancy closed on 18/11/2018

Deadline 18/11/2018

We are looking for software engineers to join the team which is implementing control software for the ELT and its instruments. The CSE department comprises a team of around 40 engineers organised in four groups and is responsible for the definition, design and implementation of complex control systems for ESO's telescopes and instruments. The main effort in CSE is spent for the ELT programme but CSE is also supporting the other ESO programmes using a matrix organisation.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Position 1 (Software development environment and test environment)

  • Extension and maintenance of CSE's software development and test environment based on Linux and a large set of mainly open source tools;
  • Evaluate new (versions of) tools on their usability and usefulness and actively propose their usage;
  • Alignment with ESO engineers working in other projects/programmes and departments;
  • Support developers at ESO and suppliers in their usage of the environment;
  • Support the ELT test infrastructure (the so called control model and the optical test bench).

Position 2 (Integration and test of control software)

  • Integration, verification and validation of control software for the ELT developed in house or external;
  • Verification of design and implementation against requirements through analysis and inspection;
  • Definition, implementation, execution of test cases, automated whenever reasonable and documentation of the results;
  • Different levels of testing such as functional, integration, system, stress, performance and regression tests;
  • Troubleshooting: investigation of errors found down to source code level and reporting fault to developers;
  • Potentially follow-up of software development projects contracted to external companies.

Position 3 (Detector control software)

  • Design, implement and test components of the Next Generation Controller (NGC), an ESO in house developed software to control scientific detectors used in ESO's instruments;
  • Contribute to the development of the common NGC part which is used both in VLT and ELT instruments;
  • Implement instrument specific detector control functionalities for the ELT.

Position 4 (Graphical user interface software)

  • Design, implement and test a framework for graphical user interfaces for the ELT control software;
  • Design, implement and test graphical user interfaces for ELT control software;
  • Key expert role for Qt/C++ and Python: training and coaching of colleagues working in the same area;
  • Further elaboration of the GUI standard for ELT control SW.

Report to:

The group head of the respective group within the CSE department.

Key Competences and Experience:

Essential Competences and Experience for all four positions:

  • Minimum of 3 years of experience in software development;
  • Knowledge of standard software development processes, preferred agile or iterative;
  • Knowledge of software engineering principles and tools for configuration management, bug reporting etc.;
  • Experience in working in a team;
  • Curiosity and eagerness to learn.

Desirable competences and experience, which are not mandatory, but considered an asset, for all four positions:

  • Experience in working in international/multicultural teams.

Additionally for Position 1 (Software development environment and test environment) Essential Competences and Experience:

  • Experience in setting-up, preparing and maintaining SW development and test environments;
  • Experience in configuring and deploying servers or embedded interconnected computers running UNIX like operating systems;
  • Knowledge of at least a scripting language.

Desirable competences and experience, which are not mandatory, but considered an asset:

  • Experience in RT Linux;
  • Experience in Jenkins, JIRA, SVN/Git, Docker, waf;
  • Experience in C/C++, Java, Python.

Additionally for Position 2 (Integration and test of control software) Essential competences and experience:

  • Experience in test and integration of distributed software, especially troubleshooting skills;
  • Knowledge of at least one programming language to an extent that errors can be identified in the code while debugging;
  • Experience in test automation.

Desirable competences and experience, which are not mandatory, but considered an asset:

  • Experience in testing real time control software;
  • Experience in Jenkins, JIRA, SVN/Git, Docker, waf;
  • Experience in C/C++, Java, Python;
  • Experience in AIV (assembly, integration and verification), preferred for complex control systems;
  • Understanding of software quality concepts.

Additionally for Position 3 (Detector control software) The following competence and experience is a mandatory requirement for the position:

  • Experience in software development covering the full life cycle: design, implementation and test.

Desirable competences and experience, which are not mandatory, but considered an asset:

  • Experience in C/C++ and Python
  • Experience in implementation of detector control software;
  • Experience in implementation of real-time data acquisition;
  • Familiarity with Linux PCI drivers;
  • Experience in development of user interfaces in Qt;
  • Basic knowledge of optical and infrared scientific detectors.

Additionally for Position 4 (Graphical user interface software) The following competence and experience is a mandatory requirement for the position:

  • Expert know how in development in Qt/C++ and Python (pyside).

Desirable competences and experience, which are not mandatory, but considered an asset:

  • Experience in implementation of real-time data acquisition;
  • Experience in graphical user interface design;
  • Experience implementing MVC (Model-View-Controller) with Qt;
  • Experience with Qt Widgets.

Qualifications:

University degree in computer science or equivalent

Language Skills:

Excellent command of the English language is essential; a working knowledge of German or Spanish would be an advantage.

Remuneration and Contract:

We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary (tax free), comprehensive pension scheme and medical, educational and other social benefits, as well as financial help in relocating your family and the possibility to place your child/children in day care.

The contract is for a fixed term duration of three years, and is subject to successful completion of the probation period. There is a possibility of extension(s) subject to individual performance and organisational requirements, in particular for the ELT Programme, and as defined in the applicable policies and staff rules and regulations. For further information, please view ESO's conditions of employment.

Duty Station:

Garching near Munich, Germany with regular duty trips to all ESO sites in Chile.

Career Path: V

Application:

If you are interested in working in areas of frontline technology and in a stimulating international environment, please visit the ESO homepage for further details.

Applicants are invited to apply online via the ESO Recruitment Portal. Applications must be completed in English and should include a motivation letter and CV.

Deadline for applications is 18 November 2018.

Interviews are expected to start soon after this date.

No nationality is in principle excluded, however, recruitment preference will be given to nationals of Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom irrespective of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, race or religion.

Contact us

Email vacancy@eso.org

ESO