Technical Officer, Level 3 Antarctica

We are seeking adventurous and suitably qualified people for 12-19 months in a remote posting to Antarctica, supporting the Bureau's Surface, and Upper Air Observations programs.

The Bureau's National Observing Operations section maintains a year-round presence at Casey, Davis, Mawson Stations with our staff embedded within the Australian Antarctic Program's expeditioner community.

Our work focuses on the provision of raw, high quality meteorological data used in a variety of ways worldwide, including for the production of weather forecasting products and long-term climate research.

Our remote staff undertake manual weather observations and weather balloon releases, and also use real-time data generated by automatic weather stations. In addition, our technicians maintain all of the meteorological instrumentation at their respective station ensuring seamless service performance.

Immediate Supervisor:
Bureau's Remote Operations Lead South (Pos. No )

As a Technical Officer Level 3 Weather Observer/Technician, you will help deliver the Bureau's highly regarded Surface and Upper Air Observations program at your respective station. You will work according to a seven-day roster with your team, observing and recording various characteristics of the Antarctic meteorology. Depending on which station you are deployed to, you may also support the maintenance or delivery of external parties' programs, such as the CSIRO's Clean Air sampling.

You will play a vital role in supporting Bureau Forecasting services throughout aviation activities. You will be required to perform Aviation Observations which will directly influence the safety and success of fixed wing and helicopter operations at – or in the vicinity of – your station.

Depending on the staffing and operational requirements, you may also be tasked with several maintenance shifts each month, providing moderately complex technical assistance to the maintenance program led by the Technical Officer Level 4 Senior Technician. You will use the Bureau's asset management system (EAMS) to document and report on all maintenance activities and service outages affecting the Bureau's systems at your station.

You will also produce monthly reports documenting the state of observations programs at your station.

All expeditioners must also actively contribute to their respective station community. These additional duties will include kitchen hand roster, weekly housekeeping, and any other community duty as requested by the Station Leader. Bureau staff may also be requested to be on Fire, Search and Rescue, or Lay Surgical Assistant teams, for which they will receive formal training through the Australian Antarctic Program (AAP).

Your participation in the Bureau's Antarctic Observations program is conducted under authority of the AAP. As an expeditioner, you will undergo rigorous pre-deployment assessments to determine your suitability to the extreme environment and isolated community. Station allocation of successful applicants will be decided by the program management to meet operational requirements.

Specific training relating to meteorological equipment and practices will be provided by the Bureau of Meteorology Training Centre. Technical Officers are required to have completed all training and maintain currency of all relevant competencies relevant to their role.

Successful applicants will need to be available for station specific Bureau training in Melbourne and AAP expeditioner training in Hobart from May 2027 before departure to their allocated station.

Departure for Antarctica is expected to be from late October 2027 to February 2028 dependent upon which station expeditioners are allocated to, and the AAP shipping program. Return to Australia is expected to be from around November 2028 to February 2029, again depending on the location of the station you are allocated.

Antarctic postings are generally 12 to 15 months in duration; dependent upon which station you have been selected for, the specific training requirements for that station and the shipping or flight schedules. This period includes pre-departure training; therefore you must be available for training and deployment between the dates June 2027 and January 2028.

Designation to a specific station will be determined by operational need, therefore you must be prepared to work at any of the three Antarctic stations.