Software Engineer

  • National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  • Socorro, New Mexico
  • 09/12/2026
Full time Information Technology Telecommunications

Job Description

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) seeks a Software Engineer II-III to develop and maintain software that powers world-class radio telescopes. In this role, you will design, implement, and optimize scientific and telecommunications software for data acquisition, processing, and analysis. You will collaborate closely with astronomers and engineers in a mission-driven, research-focused environment that values curiosity, precision, and innovation. This hybrid position offers access to cutting-edge technology, opportunities for continuous learning, and meaningful contributions to groundbreaking astronomical discovery.

Responsibilities

  • Design, develop, and maintain scientific and telecommunications software supporting radio astronomy instruments and data pipelines
  • Collaborate with astronomers, engineers, and data scientists to translate research and operational requirements into robust software solutions
  • Implement, test, and optimize high performance, scalable code for data acquisition, processing, and analysis systems
  • Contribute to code reviews, documentation, configuration management, and continuous integration workflows
  • Troubleshoot, debug, and improve existing applications to enhance reliability, performance, and usability
  • Support deployment and operations in Linux-based environments, ensuring software quality and observatory uptime

Required Skills

  • Python
  • C++Java
  • Linux development
  • Distributed systems
  • High-performance computing
  • Scientific computing
  • Data pipelines/ETLVersion control (Git)
  • CI/CD tools