Configuration Lead

The Giant Magellan Telescope is the most powerful ground-based telescope ever engineered. It was designed to push the boundaries of human knowledge and discover the unknown. With unmatched image quality, seven of the world’s largest mirrors will launch our view into the universe to uncover the cosmic mysteries of dark matter, investigate the origins of chemical elements, and search for signs of life on distant exoplanets for the first time.

The 30-meter class telescope is under construction at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the heavens. From this unrivaled vantage into the southern sky, the Giant Magellan Telescope will produce the sharpest and most detailed images ever taken of our universe.

When complete in the early 2030s, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be the largest public-private funded science project in history. The endeavor was founded by an international consortium of 15 research institutions representing Australia, Brazil, Chile, Israel, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States, and is managed by the GMTO Corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pasadena, California. Our culture is impactful, inclusive, and fearlessly innovative.

We solve the most difficult engineering challenges and scientific questions with talented individuals who share a passion for revolutionizing humanity’s knowledge of the universe.

We invite you to join our team and leave your mark on astronomy’s future and beyond.

Lead Systems Engineer and Risk Manager

Reporting to the Lead Systems Engineer and Risk Manager, the Configuration Lead will lead the development and execution of a comprehensive Configuration Management (CM) system used by management and technical project staff, as well as external collaborators and contractors, through all project phases from GMT Observatory development to operations. This role manages a team of Document Control specialists and CAD modelers responsible for maintaining system integrity, supporting users, and ensuring compliance with document and change control practices.

The Configuration Lead specifies, organizes, updates, and maintains the documentation archive systems and ensures compliance with documentation standards, policies, and procedures. They oversee the change process, coordinate Change Control Board activities, and work with the project staff to incorporate approved and validated changes into the Observatory baseline. The Configuration Lead is responsible for conducting configuration audits and for evaluating and improving configuration management processes and policies as well as working with GMTO IT staff to upgrade and develop Configuration Management tools.

The Configuration Lead may attend technical meeting/reviews when needed to be fully aware of GMT project requirements and assist with any issues that relate to the configuration management process. The Configuration Lead must also be able to work with GMT personnel and subcontractors (locally, remotely or internationally) to ensure compliance and secure the documentation into the CM system.

The Configuration Lead will implement and manage the individual and federated 3D CAD model for the mechanical apparatus, equipment, assemblies, mechanical components, and other parts for the complex structures of the telescope and its enclosure. They will also work closely and collaboratively with the EPDM administrator and the Configuration Management team to develop and improve CAD and EPDM processes, procedures, drawing templates, standards, workflows and other related processes.

This also includes developing training material on the use of CM Products and yearly training to the project team. The selected candidate will also check drawings and models from the subsystem designers and support the review and approval process.

The Configuration Lead will take end-to-end ownership of the CM processes, having the ability to be proactive, listen to stakeholders, ask probing questions, and collaborating with diverse teams of engineers and scientists. The technical expertise to grasp complex information and…