About the position
Postion Summary:
The main purpose of this role is to lead, perform and apply all aspects of specialised innovative and complex systems engineering activities across multiple domains, teams and on multiple projects in order to advance the maturity of the SARAO radio telescopes and associated systems throughout their lifecycles.
Key Responsibilities:
- Providing systems engineering advocacy and expertise to all relevant stakeholders as and when required
- Ensuring the delivered systems meet the stakeholder’s needs through sound requirements and baseline management, ensuring that traceability of requirements is maintained throughout the design evolution, requirements sets are kept current through change control processes, developing system and sub-system build-to specifications with traceability to stakeholder needs, establishing baselines (DBL, QBL, PBL, OsBL), conducting reviews thereof and managing baseline changes via ECPs, CNs, waivers, concessions, etc
- Leading the technical development process and mentor senior team members and transfer specific technical knowledge into the team
- Ensure the successful planning of the development, qualification, integration and commissioning of system(s) by aligning technical deliverables with business requirements from the early project stages defining clear technical roadmap/s, managing complex interfaces and facilitating collaboration between stakeholders
- Assume responsibility for higher level system requirements and configuration as well as interfacing system definitions by bridging the gap between business goals and specialist / technical execution
- Take ownership through in-depth subject matter expertise (‘sapiential authority’), proactive system management, and rigorous documentation control to ensure system integrity, performance, and scaleability
- Assume responsibility for the development, approval, communication and implementation of the milestone, resource and integration plans related to the technical solution
- Identify the relevant technical and management documentation related to the solution being designed and ensure the successful creation thereof
- Leading technical solution implementation by driving technical engineering excellence through the application of in-depth subject matter experience, expertise and analysis to ensure that complex systems – ranging from software applications to infrastructure – are deployed, configured, and integrated successfully, securely, and within scope to meet implementation outputs by drawing on technical and organisational knowledge, skills and experience
- Leading the creation, qualification, implementation, verification and validation, handover and support of multi-disciplinary developed solutions against systems engineering best practice, and maintain the configuration of the solution throughout the product lifecycle
- Driving project and programme management of complex, multi-disciplinary engineering projects and systems, moving from "silo thinking" to systems thinking, ensuring that disparate engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software, civil) integrate seamlessly and adding value as appropriate through effective chairing and / or by presenting / sharing / workshopping relevant information to stakeholders as required
- Delivering products on time and on brief through engineering and contract management by planning, and managing the technical content of the plan, managing and mitigating technical risks, leading and advising the technical team, establishing baselines and conducting successful reviews
- Delivering systems with verified performance and quality through system integration and verification by ensuring the implementation of interface control documents (ICDs) and the verification thereof, preparing & overseeing the execution of verification activities according to Plans (ATPs/QTPs) and reporting thereon (ATRs/QTRs) and ensuring successful setting to work of the products and products systems
- Engineering systems that perform according to expectations through functional & physical architecting, analysis and synthesis, identifying and creating ICDs, executing performance analysis, FMECAs and implementing safety in design and generating performance specifications, build-to, and maintain-to specifications
- Ensure the delivered systems continue to operate and deliver the expected performance by providing operational / field engineering support while maintaining the product breakdown structure, leading RCAs and managing the implementation of design modifications to eliminate failure modes
- Foster a collaborative and productive work environment through building and maintaining effective internal and external, national and international, stakeholder relationships for the purpose of expectations management, and development of collaborative solutions, knowledge sharing and integration
- To enhance the organisation’s reputation, driving the proactive resolution of queries and problems within span of control and within agreed time frames, whilst communicating effectively, maintaining professional conduct and contributing to broader understanding and enhanced outputs in terms of goal achievement
- Maintaining, contributing to, and continuously updating knowledge of state-of-the-art engineering practices within the systems engineering so as to ensure continued improvement in knowledge growth, retention and management by ensuring that project SEMPs, QAPs, ILSPs, technical schedules, WBS & SOWs are implemented, updated / revised along with applicable engineering processes and plans
- Lead and/or contribute towards the creation and approval of relevant standards that align to the strategic objectives of SARAO (including quality, process, safety, legislative, and technical standards)
Minimum Qualification:
- Honours Degree / Post Graduate Qualification / Professional Qualification / NQF 8
Minimum Experience:
- B
- Eng/B
- Sc (Eng) (NQF 8) with 15+ years RELEVANT Experience in a product development environment; orM
- Eng (NQF 9) with 13+ years RELEVANT Experience in a product development environment; orPhD/D
- Eng (NQF 10) with 10+ years RELEVANT Experience in a product development environment
- Meets the requirements for registration with ECSA as PrEng where legally required
Experience:
- At least 5 years as a lead systems engineer of engineering projects in radio astronomy / radar / space or similarDemonstrated expertise within the field/domain
- Proven experience in managing/leading multi-disciplinary engineering solutions / programmes
- Experienced professional responsible for providing proven specialist/technical expertise, and leading a diverse team and resources including external suppliers to achieve development deliveries
- Demonstrated delivery of projects in accordance with Systems Engineering and/or sound product development practices and principles
- Use of design tools relevant to systems engineering (eg CORE / GENESYS, JAMA, etc
- )
- Configuration management experience including engineering change management for development or operations
- Experience of exercising a substantial degree of independent professional responsibility and discretion within systems engineering, working to broad parameters and policy guidance
- Professional expertise and/or experience used to develop and implement revised or new work methods, designs, policies and processes
- Demonstrated responsibility for setting quality and professional standards
- Coaching and mentoring
Knowledge:
- Advanced expert specialist knowledge in systems engineering, throughout the complete system and product lifecycles – principles underpinning good practice, specialist knowledge, jurisdictional knowledge and local knowledge, in particular within a relevant domain such as radio astronomy / radar / space or similar
- Practical experience of engineering methods, procedures, tools and techniques within a complex development engineering environment
- Practical knowledge and application of engineering life-cycle processes
- Application of applicable Engineering standards, in particular Systems Engineering Standards, e
- g
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 & 15289, ISO/IEC/IEEE 26702, ANSI/EIA-632Relevant national legislation (e
- g
- PFMA, OHS Act, labour laws)Configuration management and configuration management systems
- Quality assurance systems (ISO 9001)
- Proven capability in mentoring and developing others to work with a variety of relevant engineering methodologies, frameworks and techniques
- Ability to apply management principles to people and processes
- Leading multi-disciplinary teams and projects and coordinate the technical direction of programmes
- Authorship of technical documentation with rigour, quality, and maintenance of configuration
- Analyse and enhance development processes and quality systems
- Planning, prioritisation and time management
- Complex problem-solving
- Excellent interpersonal skills and professional conduct
- Work independently as well as in a team environment
- Ability to work effectively in remote locations (in or outside South Africa) when required
- Lead multiple integration tasks without supervision
- Communicate effectively in English (both written and verbally)
The NRF website provides more details on the initiatives and activities Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by registering and apply online through the NRF Recruitment and Selection Portal. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of motivation indicating the applicant·s suitability for the position. The names and contact details of at least three referees should be provided.
Desired Skills:
- Skilled in applied field of position
- Knowledge to be relevant
- Responsible in performing duties
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 Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) implements South Africa's strategic investments in radio astronomy, including the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, which covers a broad range of engineering and scientific activities. SARAO is a National Facility of the National Research Foundation, and incorporates radio astronomy and space geodesy instruments and programmes such as the MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng, the Africa Radio Astronomy Programme across nine African countries, as well as associated human capital development and commercialisation endeavours.
