Summary
The Submillimeter Array (SMA), located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, is a pioneering radio-interferometer designed for astronomical observations in the major submillimeter atmospheric windows. Its eight antennas are equipped with superconducting mixer receivers operating in the 200 - 400 GHz frequency range.
Duties
Duties listed at Full Performance Level GS-14.
Design, develop, and maintain monitoring and control systems for observatory operations which are primarily written in C and running on Linux and Unix like systems
Modify observatory control tools to improve system stability, robustness, automated fault detection
Design, develop, maintain, and enhance the SMA-X message-passing interface using Redis to support communication between distributed observatory software components.
Lead systems-level software design and implementation of the SMA upgrade roadmap to improve observing capacity, operational efficiency, and overall system performance
Lead the development of next generation data formats and software tools to support interoperability and joint analysis with other observatories, including ALMA and NOEMA
Lead the adoption and implementation of software engineering best practices, including version control, code reviews, CI/CD, automated testing, and GitHub-based development workflows.
Establish and maintain standardized repository structures, coding standards, data-sharing protocols, APIs, build systems, deployment procedures, and development tools.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Education
Please refer to Qualifications Section.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Applications will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria: Expertise in developing real-time software and automated fault-detection systems to ensure reliable, highavailability monitoring and control of mission-critical instrumentation. Expertise in architecting and maintaining low-latency, high-performance, scalable, and fault-tolerant messaging frameworks that ensure reliable data exchange across complex distributed software systems. Ability to modernize legacy real-time systems and develop high-performance, GPU-accelerated software for advanced signal processing and data analysis. Ability to implement modern software engineering best practices, including CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and collaborative version control workflows, while leading technical standardization efforts through robust coding standards, repository structures, and comprehensive technical documentation. BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. You may preview questions for this vacancy.