The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Location
Chapel Hill, NC | United States
Job description
Vacancy ID: NF0007831
Position Summary/Description:
The Argus Array will be the first very large optical telescope array, with a light collecting area equivalent to a 5-meter telescope and a field of view encompassing the entire sky at once. Argus will be the world's largest optical telescope array (by a factor of ten) and, at 55 Gigapixels, by far the largest digital camera ever built. The Array will push our observations of the universe into a new regime, scanning the sky 100,000x faster than current nightly-cadence sky surveys. Argus will capture a continuous two-color, 55-gigapixel movie of the night sky, shared with the entire astronomical community in real-time through public transient alerts, images, and light curves with millions of epochs for hundreds of millions of stars.
Joining our team of astronomers, telescope-instrumentalists and data scientists, you will be responsible for the Argus Array's project engineering and management. Three years of prototyping efforts have developed and validated the system design and all major subsystems; we are now funded to scale up to the full Argus Array. This scale up involves the design and construction of the system's external enclosure and tracking mount; the at-scale production of the telescope assemblies; construction of the array's computing cluster, and the final assembly and commissioning of the Array. Major components of the Array, including the optical and sensor assemblies and the telescope cradle, will be manufactured by contractors under your supervision, in collaboration with the Argus team. Our project management philosophy emphasizes a small and local team; flat management structure; and a highly-collaborative working environment. We routinely produce prototypes and complex hardware in-house, and expect to perform significant hands-on engineering for Argus subsystems. Array deployment sites currently under consideration include mountaintop observatories in North America, the Chilean Andes, and the Canary Islands. The expected timescale for this position is four years, with possibility of extension to further projects. Responsibilities:Education and Experience:
Someone who understands structural, mechanical, electrical, and infrastructure systems.
Complex understanding of technology, electronics, and machines. Complexity and excel at solving problems efficiently A leader but also adapt readily to fluid, collaborative team environments. Skilled at working with contractors and vendors. Able to iterate and improve on designs as needed. Someone who can quickly learn and adapt in new surroundings and is enthusiastic about the chance to build a unique, world-class telescope array.About The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolina rates among the nation’s great institutions of higher education, set on an historic and beautiful campus that celebrates all four seasons. Carolina’s students, faculty and staff come here from around the world, bringing varied cultural, racial and ethnic heritages that help make UNC-Chapel Hill a thriving intellectual center. We’re repeatedly ranked the nation’s best value in higher education for students seeking to earn a college degree – the University has garnered the top spot each time since the ranking’s launch in 1998.Whether you’ve just started your career, are new to academia or are a seasoned professional with assorted campus experiences to draw on, we hope you will find a great place at Carolina.
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