Mechanical Engineering Specialist at South African Astronomical Observatory

About the position

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), an international consortium of scientific institutes and funding agencies, in partnership with the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO, a National Facility of the NRF operating SALT), invites applications from suitably qualified individuals for an Engineering Specialist (ES) to join our Operations Team based in Cape Town. The main responsibilities of the successful candidate will be with the analysis, design, and development of new or upgraded advanced multi-disciplinary systems as well as supporting the daily maintenance and operation of the largest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. You may be required to travel abroad to attend international conferences and visit partner institutions, other telescopes, and suppliers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analysis, design, and development of advanced multidisciplinary systems using systems engineering processes.
• Perform opto-mechanical engineering of advanced instrumentation and test equipment.
• Lead conceptual designs.
• Improve on standards and best practices in the mechanical area of expertise.
• Perform quality control of work through appropriate mechanical design reviews.
• Utilise the expertise of our global partners, suppliers, conferences, and academia to improve on our existing systems.
• Perform project management duties on assigned projects.
• Support configuration management plans.
• Report to the Technical Operations Manager.
• Participate and provide reports to the SALT Board, operations, and project meetings.
• Participate in developing standard operating procedures
• Participate in budget planning for operations, projects, and asset renewal.
• Participate in risk assessments (FMECA).
• Support a group of new and experienced engineers, technicians, and astronomers in operations.
• Support human capital development of the mechanical team through training, knowledge transfer and mentorship.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Qualification:

• BSc Eng (Mechanical) or NQF 8 in Mechanical Engineering
• 10 years' experience in a high technology design and development environment with detailed fine mechanics experience.

Experience:

• Operation in a multi-disciplinary high technology project environment
• Proficient in Computer Aided Design (CAD), preferably in the Siemens NX environment
• Stress analysis from first principles and Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
• Good understanding of control systems
• FMECA or equivalent risk assessment technique
• Solid experience in systems engineering processes and configuration control
• Proficient in Office applications (MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint)

Personal Qualities:

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• A demonstrated track record of taking responsibility and accountability for own and subordinates' work
• Good verbal and written English communication skills
• Good teamwork as a leader and member of a team
• Good stakeholder and supplier relations
• Must be able to cope under stress

Desirable additional education, work experience and personal qualities:

• MSc Eng (Mechanical) or equivalent
• Experience with Siemens PLM
• Experience with ZEMAX
• Exposure to thermodynamics and fluid mechanics
• Experience in opto-mechanical design, handling, alignment, integration, assembly, and testing
• Track record of innovation and quality improvements
• Registered with ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa)
• Proven leadership capabilities of a multi-disciplinary project team, spanning multiple departments.

Information:
The website [URL Removed] provides more details on the NRF initiatives and activities.

Desired Skills:

• CAD
• FEA
• FMECA
• Siemens PLM
• ZEMAX

Desired Work Experience:

• More than 10 years

About The Employer:

The National Research Foundation (NRF) supports and promotes research and human capital development through funding, the provision of National Research Facilities and science outreach platforms and programmes to the broader community in all fields of science and technology, including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the National Facility for Optical and Infrared Astronomy of the National Research Foundation (NRF). Its headquarters are in Cape Town, while its telescopes are at Sutherland in the Northern Cape. Distributed between the two sites, SAAO employs about 130 people, many of them scientists and engineers, and is contracted to operate SALT (the Southern African Large Telescope) on behalf of the international SALT Foundation. SAAO is the premier optical/infrared research facility on the African continent, with global research and outreach collaborations, contributing to SET human capital development for South Africa.