Software Engineer Group Lead - CASA (5014)

Position Description: 

Would you like to be part of leading and developing mission-critical software for some of the largest scientific endeavors on the planet? Would you like to be part of a highly skilled international team of engineers and scientists pushing the boundaries of humankind’s knowledge of the universe?

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is seeking a Lead for the CASA Group within the Data Management and Software (DMS) software division of NRAO. 

The CASA Group is responsible for the Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) package that supports the data post-processing needs of NRAO’s current generation of radio astronomical telescopes, ALMA and the VLA. The CASA software package provides the foundation upon which pipeline workflows are assembled and connected to observatory systems to allow automated data calibration and imaging.  CASA is committed to supporting the needs of the broader radio astronomy community as well and can process both interferometric and single dish data through customizable application interfaces. CASA is developed by an international consortium of scientists and developers based primarily at the National Radio Astronomical Observatory (NRAO), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), under the guidance of NRAO. 

A Radio Astronomy Data Processing System (RADPS) program is currently being initiated within NRAO’s DMS department to design and develop a next-generation suite of tools, infrastructure and interfaces to support the upcoming Next Generation VLA (ngVLA) telescope and ALMA’s Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU). Over the next decade, our software infrastructure is expected to evolve to support 2-3 orders of magnitude greater processing capability with scalable high performance and high throughput data reduction workflows for radio interferometry.   

Over the next few years, the CASA software is expected to support steady-state operations, while the team transitions into design and development efforts for RADPS. Commissioning of the ALMA-WSU and ngVLA telescopes will require support from CASA or early-RADPS over the next 1-5 years. Operations workflows are expected to transition from the current CASA software and its associated pipelines to RADPS over the next 5-10 years. 

As CASA Group Lead, you will oversee the future of the current CASA software, participate alongside RADPS leadership to define and realize the RADPS development model, and manage staff, resources and processes to implement the transition of development and operations from CASA to RADPS. 

The preferred location for the position will be based at one of the NRAO Sites – Charlottesville, VA; Socorro, NM; Albuquerque, NM; or Green Bank, WV. 

You will be responsible for personnel management for the software team, programmatic and technical oversight of the CASA software, and resource allocation across multiple projects (CASA and RADPS) that require expertise from the team. You will also take responsibility for regular reporting on management status and compliance with deadlines to senior management at NRAO and other participating organizations, and may be asked to present that status to other stakeholders or advisory bodies in formal or informal reviews. 

Personnel management involves building and maintaining a culture of trust, mutual collaboration, accountability, and excellence within the group and with the Stakeholders. This includes: 

•          Seeking to increase the diversity and inclusion of the group through robust recruiting and onboarding practices. 

•          Reviewing timesheets and periodic performance reviews, including interacting with the Human Resources and Business departments of the Observatory when necessary. 

•          With guidance from the Observatory Human Resource Department co