Senior Electrical Engineer

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 Senior Electronics Engineer will design, analyze, integrate, and test electronic and opto-electronic components of the GMT active and adaptive optics systems.  These include wavefront sensors, IR and visible cameras, laser systems, calibration light sources, metrology electronics, mechatronics, metrology electronics for small and large optics (up to 1.8 m diameter), and atmospheric characterization equipment.

Additional responsibilities will include assisting in procurement of subsystems and parts through communication with external contractors and periodic visits to their facilities. This position will play a key role in the integration and testing of the delivered subsystems, both in the laboratory and at the telescope in Chile. They may also be called upon to write technical reports and make presentations of designs at project reviews and conferences.

• Design, implement, test, and review electronics and control hardware
• Develop software and electronics requirements and standards, applicable to individual subsystems or observatory-wide
• Define and manage software and electronics interfaces with wavefront sensing subsystems, instruments, and external contractors.
• Manage electronics development efforts by external contractors
• Review, test and accept electronic systems at the observatory or at contractor facilities
• Promote standardization, modularity, remote monitoring, and control using modern industrial solutions
• Promote and advocate safety improvement initiatives, especially within the area of electrical safety hazards
• Write technical reports, manuals, and support documentation
• Prepare and deliver presentations at project reviews and conferences

• MS degree in Electronics or Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field
• 10 years of relevant experience with electromechanical control systems on complex technical projects
• Demonstrated ability to lead small technical teams
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Strong background in the state-of-the-art digital and analog electronics
• Experience with motion control
• Experience with IEC61800, IEC 61131-3, CAN, PLC Open
• Experience with electrical overvoltage/current protections, fuses, breakers, disconnectors
• Knowledge of electronics hardware standards such as UL, NFPA, and NEMA
• Trouble-shooting skills and experience using electronic test equipment and tools
• Proficient in CAD electronic tools

• Experience with ground-based observatory control electronics and electrical systems
• Strong understanding and experience with real time control systems and control theory
• Experience with EtherCAT and/or OPC-UA
• Thermal control experience
• Fiber optics installations and deployment for communications
• Experience with Model Based System Engineering (MBSE)
• Experience with SysML
• Spanish written and verbal communications skills
• Willingness and ability to travel
• Proficient in Matlab or similar numerical analysis tools

• 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.