Data Processing Software Engineer - SKA-Low Telescope

Acknowledgement of Country 

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation. 

Role highlights

• Great ongoing opportunity to build software for a world-leading telescope
• Apply your software engineering expertise to complex data systems
• Join a global team shaping the future of radio astronomy!

About CSIRO

As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.

Visit CSIRO.au for more information.

The opportunity 

The SKA-Low project is part of the SKA Observatory’s global effort to build the world’s largest and most advanced radio telescope. In Australia, SKA-Low is being developed on Wajarri Yamaji Country in remote Western Australia, using cutting-edge technology to process vast volumes of scientific data and deliver transformational insights into the Universe.

The Computing and Software function within SKA-Low delivers innovative systems that underpin telescope operations, including high-performance data processing platforms, large-scale distributed networks, and science data management systems. The Data Processing Team plays a critical role in enabling these capabilities, supporting the development and operation of software solutions that transform raw telescope data into meaningful scientific outputs.

As a Data Processing Software Engineer, you will contribute to the design, integration, development and maintenance of software systems that support scientific data processing pipelines. You will work as part of a global, distributed software team using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), collaborating with engineers across Australia and internationally to deliver solutions that operate at scale and complexity.

You will apply strong software engineering practices to solve complex technical challenges, helping to bring advanced algorithms into real-world operational environments. You will also have opportunities to grow your capability through collaboration with experienced engineers, exposure to cutting-edge technologies, and participation in industry and research communities.

The ideal candidate will bring technical expertise, a collaborative approach, and a strong interest in applying software engineering to large-scale, data-intensive systems. Adaptability, problem-solving capability, and the ability to work effectively in a distributed team environment will be key to success in this role.

If you’re passionate about applying your skills to solve complex, real-world challenges and contributing to a globally significant scientific project, this is a unique, ongoing, opportunity to be part of a team shaping the future of radio astronomy!

Your high-level duties will include: 

• Developing, integrating and maintaining distributed data pipelines, running on dedicated High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms, using industry best practice methodologies.
• Troubleshooting software applications operational issues in collaboration with other teams, in particular HPC platform and storage engineers.
• Working as part of the SKAO Scaled Agile Framework international team, and collaborating with other software development teams based in the SKAO member countries. (Occasional international travel may be requested).
• Undertaking a wide variety of tasks or tasks with a high degree of specialisation.
• Showing initiative to seek new approaches to meet experimental or technological needs when encountering new problems where methods are not defined.
• Addressing problems promptly and in a constructive manner.
• Participating in troubleshooting and root cause analysis of technological problems with colleagues from different teams.

Role particulars

Location and office arrangements: Perth, WA (Hybrid and flexible work options available)

Salary: AU$100K – AU$113K per annum plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule: Indefinite

Reference: 103183

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

• A degree (or an equivalent combination of qualifications and work experience) in a relevant science domain, such as software development, engineering, data analytics, or equivalent.
• Experience in the development of complex data processing pipelines using Python.
• Experience working to industry-standard software development practices, including version control, git workflows, CI/CD pipelines and technical documentation.
• Experience in deploying and operating container-based applications in a Linux environment.
• Experience in developing and supporting distributed, parallel data processing software running in Cloud or High-Performance Computing (HPC) platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to respectfully engage with and amplify minority perspectives and voices, or a sincere commitment to develop this capability.

For full details about this role, please review the Position Description. 

Not sure if you meet all the criteria?

While it is CSIRO policy that the successful candidate must meet all the essential criteria, there are many ways to demonstrate this. Don’t let the list discourage you. If you are unsure about applying, please reach out to the contact person in the Position Description.

Setting you up for success

We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact the Talent Acquisition Partner via email (see details in the Position Description) and let us know how we can support you.

Eligibility 

Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, New Zealand Citizens, and Australian Permanent Residents.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO.

Inclusion and belonging

Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.

CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.

Child safety 

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy. 

How to apply 

Please apply online, and provide a CV and a detailed cover letter, responding to each of the selection criteria in detail, that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role. Please attach your selection criteria responses to your cover letter as one document.

Applications close 

12 July 2026, 11:00pm AEST