Project Coordinator

The Giant Magellan Telescope is the most powerful ground-based telescope ever engineered. It was designed to push the boundaries of human knowledge and discover the unknown. With unmatched image quality, seven of the world’s largest mirrors will launch our view into the universe to uncover the cosmic mysteries of dark matter, investigate the origins of chemical elements, and search for signs of life on distant exoplanets for the first time.

The 30-meter class telescope is under construction at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the heavens. From this unrivaled vantage into the southern sky, the Giant Magellan Telescope will produce the sharpest and most detailed images ever taken of our universe, ten times greater than the famed Hubble Space Telescope and four times the James Webb Space Telescope.

When complete in the late 2020s, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be the largest public-private funded science project in history. The endeavor was founded by an international consortium of leading universities and research institutions representing five countries, and is managed by the GMTO Corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pasadena, California. Our culture is impactful, inclusive, and fearlessly innovative. We solve the most difficult engineering challenges and scientific questions with talented individuals who share a passion for revolutionizing humanity’s knowledge of the universe.

We invite you to join our team and leave your mark on astronomy’s future and beyond.

The Universe Awaits.

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for supporting high-level coordination for the Wavefront Sensing and Control Element. Duties will include resource allocation, schedule, and cost tracking, and financial and earned value reporting.

This position reports to the GMTO Wavefront Sensing & Control Element Manager. It involves interfacing with staff from various areas of the enterprise, including scientists and engineers, business and financial personnel, and external organizations and individuals.

The role requires the successful candidate to have an outgoing personality, strong initiative, motivation, excellent written and oral communication skills, organization skills, judgment and discretion, and the ability to balance multiple tasks and change priorities with limited supervision.

• Support the Element Manager in maintenance and tracking of schedules, budgets, and resources
• Identify cross dependencies within and outside the Element
• Ensure team follows engineering best practices
• Attend and participate in meetings, take meeting notes, minutes, and compile action items, lead regular status of action items
• Support subcontractor management including interfacing with GMT contracts, reviewing invoices, tracking subcontractor progress against schedule
• Document and follow up on important actions and decisions from meetings
• Document project changes and assist the Element Manager with tracking and ensuring deadlines are met
• Ensure compliance with implementation frameworks and timelines, and that all documentation is maintained appropriately for each area.
• Assist with administration of the project risk management and configuration control processes

• Bachelor’s degree in technical or business field of study
• 3 years of experience in a related field
• Strong critical thinking skills
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, and presentation skills
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team
• Competency in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and Outlook
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and manage the flow of confidential information with discretion
• Ability to plan, organize and prioritize conflicting work or demands for successful completion
• Demonstrated ability to accurately, efficiently, and effectively manage and maintain workloads

• Experience working in technical, scientific and/or engineering organizations
• Previous experience in similar positions, such as Assistant Manager or Technical Program Manager (TPM)

• Work from home with some office presence.

• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• 401(k)

To apply send your resume and a cover letter to careers@giantmagellan.org.

If your skills and experience are a match for the position or if we need additional information, we will contact you. If we do not see a suitable match between your qualifications and the position, we will keep your information on file in the event future positions become available that are more suitable to your qualifications.

The GMTO Corporation is an equal employment opportunity employer.