Employment

Current Vacancies

At ICRAR, we are committed to a diverse workforce

ICRAR is a great place to work, and we encourage you to apply for any vacancy that you are suitably qualified for. ICRAR is committed to creating a working environment and culture that is inclusive and provides equal opportunities, irrespective of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, culture and origin. We celebrate inclusion and diversity and believe gender equity is fundamental to an excellent workplace. We appreciate the experiences, skills and perspectives of all individuals and harness a collaborative environment. We actively encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds, and we encourage flexible working hours in consultation with management.

For more information on the benefits of employment at ICRAR with either Curtin University or The University of Western Australia, you can visit the Curtin or UWA employment websites.

For jobs with the SKA Organisation, please head to the SKA Organisation recruitment website.

Senior Research Engineer (SKA)

The Astrophotonics Group at ICRAR is focused on designing, building, and testing advanced photonic systems with applications in radio astronomy, optical astronomy, and space science. The group combines research expertise from people with a broad range of backgrounds including astronomy, physics and engineering. The group’s core technological capability is the long-distance transfer of stabilised optical-frequency signals, and microwave-frequency signals, and timing signals, transmitted across optical fibre networks and free-space laser links.

As Senior Research Engineer you will, under general direction, provide support in the design, build, and test an optical fibre-based frequency distribution system tailored to meet the scientific needs and logistical challenges of the SKA; as well as develop this technology for application to other high-precision use-cases across space science and astronomy research fields. You will work in the Astrophotonics group at ICRAR and collaborate with the SKA Office and other partner organisations. This hardware development and production role includes office-based design tasks as well as laboratory-based prototyping and testing. The resultant hardware will be mass manufactured and deployed on the SKA-Mid telescope.

About you 

To be considered for this role, you will demonstrate:

• Relevant tertiary qualification or demonstrated equivalent competency
• Extensive experience in electronic engineering including low noise analogue electronic design, RF & microwave electronics design and Microprocessor / FPGA / digital system design and programming
• Substantial experience with EDA software, ideally Altium Designer
• Substantial experience with PCB technology, including materials, manufacture, assembly, testing, and quality assurance processes
• Substantial experience with prototyping and hand soldering including SMT components
• Experience with PLL design and optimisation
• Demonstrated ability to plan and perform electronics testing in a laboratory environment
• Experience with optical fibre technology is desirable

Apply Now

Communications Systems Lead, TeraNet Project

The Astrophotonics Group at ICRAR is focused on designing, building, and testing advanced photonic systems with applications in radio astronomy, optical astronomy, and space science. The group combines research expertise from people with a broad range of backgrounds including astronomy, physics, and engineering. The group’s core technological capability is the long-distance transfer of stabilised optical-frequency signals, microwave-frequency signals, timing signals and communications signals, transmitted across optical fibre networks and free-space laser links.

Your work will contribute to the $6.3M ‘TeraNet’ project, which aims to establish a three-node optical communications ground station network in Australia. This network will support multiple international space missions operating between low-earth orbit and the Moon, using both conventional optical communications standards (O3K), as well as more advanced optical technologies including deep-space (HPE) communication, ultra-high-speed coherent communications (n-QAM), quantum-secured communications, and optical positioning and timing. The TeraNet network comprises a 0.7m ground station optimised for research and development at UWA, a second 0.7m ground station to be located at the Mingenew Space Precinct (300km North of Perth), and a 0.4m mobile ground station to be commissioned at ESA’s New Norcia facility.

We support flexible work arrangements to allow people to align their work duties with their family’s requirements and personal wellbeing. TeraNet is a project with global reach, so we do have to attend meetings after hours and there will be the occasional field deployments, and national and international travel.

About the opportunity

As the appointee you will, under broad direction, work with the project leadership team to deliver on the objectives and outcomes of the TeraNet project. Specifically, you will be responsible for the communications systems to be used by the TeraNet ground station network.

About you 

Deliver the Communications Systems Design Study in coordination with the rest of the project personnel and Project Collaborators, to arrive at an optimal design that maximises the compatibility of the system with current and future in-space optical payloads, while keeping within the project budget.

To be considered for this role, you will demonstrate:

• Relevant tertiary qualification or demonstrated equivalent competency
• Substantial experience in communications systems, preferably a combination of:
  • deployment of free-space optical communications systems,
  • optical networking, including industry standard interfaces, and
  • digital communications appropriate for satellite communications, including industry standard formats
• Familiarity with different physical layer modulation schemes (such as OOK, DPSK, QPSK, HPE) and detection schemes (e.g. direct detection, intradyne, heterodyne)
• Familiarity with link reliability techniques including forward error correction and interleaving, and retransmission protocols such as automatic repeat request

Desirable capabilities:

• Experience leading a technical team
• Familiarity with atmospheric optical channel characteristics and challenges associated with communication between ground and space at optical wavelengths,
• experience with the analysis, modelling, and simulation of end-to-end link performance, including optical channel characteristics, interference, non-linear device characteristics, intermodulation, and bit error rate on the achievable channel performance.
• Experience with high-power optical systems and the safe use of such systems, and
• Experience with spatial beam control and adaptive optics

Apply Now

Research Fellow (Communications Systems)

The Astrophotonics Group at ICRAR is focused on designing, building, and testing advanced photonic systems with applications in radio astronomy, optical astronomy, and space science. The group combines research expertise from people with a broad range of backgrounds including astronomy, physics, and engineering. The group’s core technological capability is the long-distance transfer of stabilised optical-frequency signals, microwave-frequency signals, timing signals and communications signals, transmitted across optical fibre networks and free-space laser links.

Your work will contribute to the $6.3M ‘TeraNet’ project, which aims to establish a three-node optical communications ground station network in Australia. This network will support multiple international space missions operating between low-earth orbit and the Moon, using both conventional optical communications standards (O3K), as well as more advanced optical technologies including deep-space (HPE) communication, ultra-high-speed coherent communications (n-QAM), quantum-secured communications, and optical positioning and timing. The TeraNet network comprises a 0.7m ground station optimised for research and development at UWA, a second 0.7m ground station to be located at the Mingenew Space Precinct (300km North of Perth), and a 0.4m mobile ground station to be commissioned at ESA’s New Norcia facility.

We support flexible work arrangements to allow people to align their work duties with their family’s requirements and personal wellbeing. TeraNet is a project with global reach, so we do have to attend meetings after hours and there will be the occasional field deployments, and national and international travel.

About the opportunity

As the appointee you will, under broad direction, undertake independent research on the communications systems to be used by the TeraNet ground station network. You will be will be expected work with the project team to target this research towards the objectives and outcomes of the TeraNet project.

About you 

You will conduct applied research on communications systems for the TeraNet project to arrive at an optimal design that maximises the compatibility of the system with current and future in-space optical payloads in coordination with the rest of the project personnel and Project Collaborators.

To be considered for this role, you will demonstrate:

• PhD in an academic field relevant to the discipline or other higher professional qualifications appropriate to their discipline
• Substantial research experience in communications systems, as evidenced by a series of peer-reviewed journal articles published in high quality journals. The experience should preferably a combination of:
  • deployment of free-space optical communications systems,
  • optical networking, including industry standard interfaces, and
  • digital communications appropriate for satellite communications, including industry standard formats
• Familiarity with different physical layer modulation schemes (such as OOK, DPSK, QPSK, HPE) and detection schemes (e.g. direct detection, intradyne, heterodyne)
• Familiarity with link reliability techniques including forward error correction and interleaving, and retransmission protocols such as automatic repeat request
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organisational skills with the demonstrated ability to set priorities and meet deadlines
• The ability to work independently, show initiative and work productively as part of a team

Desirable capabilities:

• experience leading a research team and supervision of HDR student
• familiarity with atmospheric optical channel characteristics and challenges associated with communication between ground and space at optical wavelengths,
• experience with the analysis, modelling, and simulation of end-to-end link performance, including optical channel characteristics, interference, non-linear device characteristics, intermodulation, and bit error rate on the achievable channel performance.
• experience with high-power optical systems and the safe use of such systems, and
• experience with spatial beam control and adaptive optics

Apply Now