Software Engineer III - UPDATED

800 Bradbury Dr SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA

155 Observatory Rd, Green Bank, WV 24944, USA

Posted Friday, May 8, 2026 at 6:00 AM | Expires Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 5:59 AM

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, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) across North America, 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 Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) is a transformative astronomical observatory designed to deliver science-ready data products to a broad community of users. The ngVLA is in the development phase of the project lifecycle. The computing resources needed to support data processing for ngVLA operations is significantly larger and more complicated than any existing NRAO facilities. Therefore, NRAO has partnered with the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) to design and prototype the technical infrastructure and data processing software to support ngVLA operations.

The primary focus of this position will be prototyping, profiling and optimizing cutting edge software for RADPS within the Data Processing group. Immediate activities may include (but are not limited to):

• Develop high-performance scientific software in C++ and Python, including numerical algorithms, data-analysis pipelines, and simulation components.
• Build Python interfaces, bindings, and workflow tooling around high-performance C++ cores.
• Design modular, maintainable, and testable codebases following established software engineering best practices.

• Profile, benchmark, and optimize HPC applications for multi-core and distributed-memory systems.
• Improve algorithmic efficiency, memory usage, I/O patterns, and data-movement behavior to achieve target throughput and scalability.
• Work with HPC system engineers to tune application performance for specific architectures.

• Create robust, automated workflows for large-scale simulations, experiments, or data-processing tasks.
• Integrate software with HPC schedulers, containerization technologies, and workflow engines.
• Implement data ingestion, transformation, and storage strategies for multi-terabyte to petabyte-scale datasets.

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. May occasionally work at high altitudes. Must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

• You have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field
• While not required, you may have an advanced degree in a related field (Ph.D. preferred for research-intensive domains).
• You have at least three or more years of experience.

• Strong proficiency in Python and modern C++.
• Experience with parallel programming paradigms and performance-profiling tools.
• Familiarity with Linux development environments, version control, software build systems, and automated testing frameworks.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and scientific stakeholders.
• Prior contributions to open-source scientific computing libraries encouraged preferred.
• Demonstrated experience developing scientific or numerical software for HPC systems.
• Experience with workflow orchestration frameworks and HPC schedulers.
• Background in numerical methods, computational physics, signal processing, or other scientific domains relevant to the organization.
• Experience with large-scale data management strategies and parallel I/O libraries.
• Familiarity with container technologies and reproducible science practices.
• Experience with software engineering principles, working within an Agile framework, and experience in the complete product lifecycle are preferred.

Observatory employees must be authorized to work in the United States.

Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) offers a comprehensive total rewards package for this position, subject to eligibility requirements. We are committed to serving our employees and their families with an extensive and competitive compensation and benefits package that supports our employees’ overall well-being and career growth.

AUI strives to attract and retain dedicated, highly qualified, competent, and motivated employees by offering competitive…