Digital Signal Processing Engineer

About the position

The Digital Signal Processing Engineer works closely with peers across functional engineering groups and key stakeholders to ensure satisfactory delivery of the Data Processing & Pipelines Department’s systems and products.
JOB DESCRIPTION 

• Implementation of digital signal processing (DSP) products, applications and/or algorithms for Radio Astronomy data processing systems that satisfy higher-level system functional and performance requirements
• Implementation of these products contains elements of digital signal processing system design, FPGA development, software development and high-speed data transport
• Support analysis, definition, integration, verification and validation activities of DSP products at various system levels
• Development of software to control, monitor, debug and support operation of the developed products and applications
• Follow and support the relevant Systems Engineering processes for product development throughout the entire product or application lifecycle from conceptualisation through to decommissioning
• Support deployment, maintenance, upgrades, operation and decommissioning of developed products

JOB REQUIREMENTS 

Qualification:

• Tech (Eng) (NQF 7) in Electrical, Electronics or Mechatronics Engineering with 6+ years relevant experience, OR
• Eng/B.Sc (Eng) (NQF 8) in Electrical, Electronics or Mechatronics Engineering with 4+ years relevant experience; OR
• MSc / [URL Removed] (NQF 9) in Electrical, Electronics or Mechatronics Engineering with 3+ years relevant experience; OR
• PhD (NQF 10) in Electrical, Electronics or Mechatronics Engineering with 1+ years relevant experience

Experience:

• Experience as a DSP or FPGA Engineer with experience implementing digital signal processing algorithms on FPGA-based hardware using HDL or other design tools
• Experience in designing digital signal processing systems at a higher, product level or in low-level implementation of components and features
• Experience building data processing applications specifically for Radio Astronomy instrumentation is advantageous but not required
• Implementing parallel processing on FPGA hardware
• Implementation of accelerated and optimised DSP algorithms
• Experience analysing system requirements and defining a suitable system design
• Writing technical documentation describing the implementation and design of products at various technical levels
• Software Development or Scientific Computing proficiency in either Python, C++, or Matlab
• Working with workflow and issue management tools (e.g., JIRA)
• Working with source code and version control tools (e.g., Git)

Knowledge:

• Multi-rate and parallel implementations of Digital Signal Processing Operations such as FFTs, Filters, DDS, DDC
• Knowledge of FPGA firmware design, parallel implementation and FPGA design tools
• Typical radio astronomy instrumentation: e.g., spectrometers, correlators, beamformers (advantageous)
• High-speed data transport such as ethernet and/or knowledge of large-scale networks (advantageous)
• Controlling and monitoring of DSP applications and components
• Systems Engineering Processes or Software Design Life Cycle
• Software Development or Scientific Computing proficiency in either Python, C++, or Matlab
• Linux operating systems and development tools

Desired Skills:

• • Good communication skills
• • A high attention to detail
• Excellent organisation skills