Data Operations DevOps Engineer

This role is based in Cheshire, UK.

At the SKAO we are coordinating a global effort to deliver one of the largest science facilities on the planet. The SKAO telescopes will be next-generation instruments that will help to answer key questions in astrophysics, drive technological innovation and support human capital development.

More than a dozen partner countries and over a thousand scientists and engineers around the world are already on board, making the SKA project an international collaboration like no other, and one of the most ambitious science and engineering endeavours of the 21st century.

Headquartered in the UK, with telescope sites in Australia and South Africa, the SKAO will be one observatory operating two telescopes, an endeavour spanning three continents. Multinational by design, in early 2021 the SKAO became an intergovernmental organisation, one of only a select handful of science infrastructures to do so worldwide.

Our Global HQ is located near the buzzing city of Manchester at the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Cheshire countryside. It is home to a rapidly expanding international team of more than a hundred, working in a highly collaborative and inclusive way, in coordination with SKAO teams in Australia and South Africa as part of a global astronomy and engineering community.

Being part of Team SKA means contributing to something extraordinary: a uniquely exciting project to advance human knowledge that will last for decades. In return, we offer a diverse multicultural working environment, 30 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme, visa and support with relocation (if applicable), regular social events, a family-friendly environment and much more. Come and join us!

At SKAO we are coordinating a global effort to deliver one of the largest science facilities on the planet. SKAO telescopes will be next-generation instruments that will help to answer key questions in astrophysics, drive technological innovation and support human capital development.

More than a dozen partner countries and over a thousand scientists and engineers around the world are already on board, making the SKA project an international collaboration like no other, and one of the most ambitious science and engineering endeavours of the 21st century.

Headquartered in the UK, with telescope sites in Australia and South Africa, SKAO will be one observatory operating two telescopes, an undertaking spanning three continents. Multinational by design, in early 2021 SKAO became an intergovernmental organisation, one of only a select handful of science infrastructures to do so worldwide.

Our Global HQ is located near the buzzing city of Manchester at the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Cheshire countryside. It is home to a rapidly expanding international team of more than a hundred, working in a highly collaborative and inclusive way, in coordination with SKAO teams in Australia and South Africa as part of a global astronomy and engineering community.

Being part of Team SKA means contributing to something extraordinary: a uniquely exciting project to advance human knowledge that will last for decades. In return, we offer a diverse multicultural working environment, 30 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme, visa and support with relocation (if applicable), regular social events, a family-friendly environment and much more. Come and join us!

This is an ideal role for a software, DevOps, or data engineer with a familiarity of scientific research settings who is keen to contribute to the development of the global network of data centres that will allow scientists to make scientific discoveries from the vast data products generated by the SKA telescopes.

The Role

The SKAO Data Operations group is looking to employ a talented and driven DevOps engineer to join our team based in the SKAO Global Headquarters located at Jodrell Bank in the UK. With the SKA now in construction, the development of the global network of data centres - the SKA Regional Centre Network (SRCNet) - to support the operations of the SKA has entered an exciting phase.

SRCNet is crucial to the success of the SKA. The observatory’s output data products will be too large for astronomers to download and process locally; scientists will rely on the SRCNet to make new scientific discoveries. In addition to efficiently storing and managing the Exabyte-scale archive of data products globally, the SRCNet will provide tools and services for astronomers to discover, visualise and process the SKA telescope data products, promoting the principles of open science and reproducibility of results.

In order to support our delivery of the SRCNet, we are looking for someone with experience in operating production web services in a cloud ecosystem. This includes a good understanding of programming languages and frameworks commonly used in web service development, as well as the containerisation and orchestration technologies that enable us to manage, maintain and further develop these services. Complementing these, a background in scientific research is desirable, but not required.

Due to the global nature of the SRCNet development effort, with multiple stakeholders and developers distributed globally, the successful candidate will possess strong organisational and communication skills, with a drive to collaborate with partner organisations and people to excel in this role.

SKAO is committed to providing an inclusive and flexible working environment, meeting the requests of our colleagues whilst also fulfilling the needs and objectives of the Observatory.

There are expected to be occasions where this role requires the post holder to work across different time zones and travel nationally and internationally as required (e.g. ~2-4 times a year). In line with SKAO policy, flexible working hours will be supported in agreement with the line manager.

Key Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Duties

• Effectively work within the software engineering team based at SKAO HQ, and represent the SKAO within the SRCNet Operations Group; communicating issues affecting global services, triaging bug reports and operator-driven feature requests
• Technical ownership of the deployment and day-to-day operation of SKAO-owned SRCNet services: monitoring and managing the services, maintaining the Kubernetes platform layer, responding to and diagnosing incidents and coordinating resolutions to ensure stability
• Manage service lifecycle and upgrades: plan and execute upgrades of platform components and deployed services
• Improve deployment and release processes: maintain CI/CD and GitOps workflows to support deployment and improve the team’s release management processes.
• Drive operational excellence and security practices: improve observability, documentation and security practices across SRCNet services.

Mandatory Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience working in a professional DevOps engineering capacity for at least two years
• Postgraduate qualification in Astronomy, Physics, Computer Science or a related and relevant field
• Proficiency in a modern programming language (e.g. Python) and familiarity with software engineering practices including version control, TDD and CI/CD pipelines, as well as infrastructure automation and GitOps-based deployment workflows (e.g. Helm, ArgoCD, Terraform or Ansible).
• Experience with Kubernetes and containerisation technologies (e.g. Docker, Singularity) in cloud or distributed infrastructure environments, including deployment, configuration and lifecycle management of containerised services.
• Demonstrable ability to diagnose and resolve complex operational issues across application, infrastructure and networking layers, supported by experience with observability and operational tooling (e.g. Prometheus, Grafana, Elastic stack), and the ability to manage workloads and targets in a dynamic and collaborative environment.
• Experience of building effective working relationships with engineers and scientists from a variety of cultures, to communicate ideas well and to foster a collaborative ethos.
• Experience with, or a proven commitment to, Agile practices, including the importance of customer focus and a pragmatic approach to decision making

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience with database administration (we use a range of SQL and noSQL DBs)
• Background in scientific computing, data-intensive systems or research infrastructure.
• Experience implementing security practices such as vulnerability scanning, secrets management or access control in cloud-native environments.
• Experience with data management systems used in large-scale research environments.
• Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Statement

SKA Observatory recognises that our diversity is a strength. We aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong, and diverse perspectives and ideas thrive. As such, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are at the core of SKA Observatory’s agenda.

Our aim is to recruit and retain the most talented individuals, regardless of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, nationality or background.

Women have traditionally been under-represented in the fields of science and engineering; SKA Observatory welcomes and encourages female applicants.

Where applicants with a disability need facilities or adjustments to enable them to participate in the recruitment process, these will be provided.

SKA Observatory welcome all candidates, especially those from member countries.

The “How to Apply” information contained within the SKA Observatory recruitment portal provides more detail regarding our application and selection approach.