Software Engineer II-III

155 Observatory Rd, Green Bank, WV 24944, USA •

800 Bradbury Dr SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA •

Posted Friday, December 5, 2025 at 7:00 AM | Expires Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 6:59 AM

Position

Description:

Position Summary

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is an exciting and prestigious research facility that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. The Observatory operates a variety of radio telescopes that span the globe, including the famous Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.

These telescopes are among the most advanced in the world, allowing astronomers to explore the universe in unprecedented detail.

The NRAO develops and maintains software used by the astronomy community for proposing, planning, scheduling, and analyzing observations performed with these telescopes.

We seek an experienced Software Engineer to join the Scientific Support and Archive (SSA) development team.

The SSA team is responsible for some of the most visible user‑facing software at the observatory, including the Proposal Submission Tool and the NRAO Science Archive.

This position will be based in Albuquerque, NM, Socorro, NM, Charlottesville, VA or Green Bank, WV. For well qualified candidates, a remote work arrangement may be considered.

This position will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of the next generation of tools critical to the Observatory, for both the current telescopes and the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).

What You Will be Doing:

The initial focus of this position will be on adding value to the NRAO Science Archive. There are numerous opportunities for improving the existing Archive, such as providing a more robust test infrastructure, optimizing the backend performance and front-end responsiveness, and generally making the interfaces more intuitive. All of this will help astronomers and other scientists work with radio astronomy observations more easily, thereby expanding the impact of our data.

You will have the opportunity to apply your skills and technical knowledge to developing more modern and streamlined user experiences.

You will also be responsible for designing and delivering key components of this system.

Team members are responsible for maintaining and upgrading existing software, and for developing new tools that support the Observatory’s evolving observing methods. These efforts help ensure the Observatory stays at the forefront of science and technology.

The successful candidate will join a team of professionals engaged in research and development in the fields of science, engineering, software development, and education. Work is typically performed in a research or development environment. Must be able to operate a personal computer. Must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

Who You Are:

• You have a Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, scientific or related field.
• While not required, you may have an advanced degree in a related field.
• A minimum of one year of professional experience is required, you may have three or more years of experience in the professional development of software applications; candidates with progressively more work experience will be considered for a higher-level position ranking.

Competency Summary

Your expertise and competencies will include:

• The ability to design, develop, modify, and support complex user‑facing systems, interfacing with other systems and DBMS
• Experience developing software using Python, Java, SQL Alchemy, and other toolkits
• Experience with web front end technologies:
  Angular, Type Script, webpack, bootstrap, sass and others
• Familiarity with network protocols like HTTP and RabitMQ
• Familiarity with containerization strategies and technologies such as Docker, Docker Swarm, Docker Compose, and/or Kubernetes
• Understanding of object‑oriented design and development
• Understanding of object‑relational mapping
• Demonstrated ability to learn and apply new software languages
• Experience with version control software, testing methodologies and CI/CD
• Experience…