Head of Digital, Computing and Software Operations

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!

The Head of Digital, Software and Computing Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for the computing, software, data-platform, network and digital service capabilities required to deliver the SKAO mission through late construction, commissioning and into stable observatory operations.

The role exists to ensure that SKAO’s software, platforms, networks and digital services are secure, resilient, supportable and fit for long-term scientific operations across the Observatory’s international footprint.

The postholder operates as the Head of Profession for the Technology area of the Engineering and Technology Job Family, with clear accountability for setting the operating model, standards, priorities and delivery expectations for in-scope services and platforms.

The Role

The SKA Observatory (SKAO) is a next-generation international radio astronomy facility with telescopes in Australia and South Africa and headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is moving through the final years of construction into commissioning and operational maturity.

This role sits at the junction of programme delivery, observatory operations, scientific enablement and enterprise digital services. It spans telescope software, observatory computing and networks, science data platforms and interfaces to the SKA Regional Centre Network (SRCNet), cyber security leadership, and the digital services required to support a global observatory.

The postholder leads a federated, multinational function of approximately 130 staff across multiple countries, working through a mixture of direct line management, functional leadership, standards-setting and cross-site alignment.

As Head of Profession for Computing and Software across SKAO, this role provides visible leadership to the professional cohort, setting clear standards and direction, shaping capability, career development, succession planning and future skills needs across the function.

Key Accountabilities

Strategy, Operating Model and Transition to Operations

• Define and maintain the observatory-wide strategy, operating model and roadmap for digital, software and computing services.
• Lead the transition of systems and platforms from programme delivery and commissioning into sustainable operational service.
• Ensure clear service and product ownership, lifecycle accountability and fit-for-purpose support arrangements.

Technology Governance, Reliability and Security

• Own architecture governance, technical standards and technology roadmaps across the function.
• Ensure critical services are reliable, secure, maintainable, observable and resilient.
• Lead cyber security for the digital and software estate in partnership with relevant assurance and governance functions.

Platforms, Infrastructure and Science Enablement

• Provide accountability for the lifecycle management of observatory software, computing, network and digital service capabilities.
• Oversee capacity, performance and availability planning for critical compute, storage and network services.
• Provide strategic leadership for SRCNet-related interfaces – together with the SRCNet Project Lead – and SKAO-side platforms and services supporting science users and science data products.

Organisation, Suppliers and Financial Stewardship

• Lead workforce capability, succession planning and organisational design within the function.
• Own vendor and partner management for relevant software, infrastructure and service contracts.
• Lead budget planning, investment prioritisation and whole-life cost management for the function.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and communicate the strategy, operating model and roadmap for computing, software, data platforms and digital operations across SKAO.
• Lead the transition from construction and commissioning into sustainable operations, including service acceptance, support models and lifecycle ownership.
• Establish and maintain appropriate architecture governance, technical standards and design authority arrangements.
• Ensure that telescope software, observatory platforms and supporting infrastructure are reliable, secure, maintainable and fit for scientific operations.
• Lead the observatory approach to platform engineering, DevSecOps, release governance, observability and automation.
• Define the service-management approach for in-scope services, including service ownership, support, incident, problem, change, continuity and disaster recovery arrangements.
• Work with science, operations, programme and engineering stakeholders to translate mission priorities into technology and service roadmaps.
• Provide strategic leadership for SRCNet-related technical interfaces – together with the SRCNet Project Lead – and the SKAO-side platforms and services that support science users and science data products.
• Oversee computing infrastructure strategy, including storage, compute, networking and data lifecycle management.
• Lead supplier and commercial relationships relevant to the function, including sourcing strategy, performance management and make-buy decisions.
• Build and sustain a high-performing, inclusive, multinational organisation with strong technical leadership and clear professional development pathways.
• Provide regular decision-oriented reporting on delivery, service health, cyber posture, workforce capability and investment needs.

Mandatory Knowledge

• Degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline, or equivalent senior professional experience.
• Substantial senior leadership experience in a complex software, computing, digital-platform, scientific or technical infrastructure environment.
• Experience leading a major function or organisation through significant delivery, commissioning, transition or operational change.
• Strong record of leading and developing large, multidisciplinary and geographically distributed teams.
• Broad executive-level understanding of software engineering, computing platforms, architecture, service operations, cyber risk and technology lifecycle management, with the ability to challenge and integrate specialist advice.
• Experience setting technology strategy, priorities and roadmaps and making informed trade-offs between delivery, reliability, security, affordability and long-term sustainability.
• Strong financial, commercial and supplier-management judgement, including investment prioritisation and oversight of technically complex contracts or partnerships.
• Excellent stakeholder leadership, with experience aligning senior technical, scientific, operational and corporate stakeholders in a multinational or matrixed organisation.

Desirable Knowledge

• Astronomy, scientific research, advanced instrumentation or another data-intensive mission environment.
• Observatory, laboratory, HPC, data archive or distributed-computing environments.
• Commissioning or transitioning integrated hardware/software systems into operational service.
• Modern software/platform practices including DevOps/DevSecOps, CI/CD, automation, observability or SRE.
• Cyber-security, service-management or operational-resilience experience in high-availability environments.
• Scientific software, science data products, research platforms or user-facing digital services.
• Industry, academic, international-collaboration or formal technical-assurance experience.

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.