Deputy Project Manager

BACKGROUND

The Giant Magellan Telescope is the most powerful ground-based telescope ever engineered. It was designed to push the boundaries of human knowledge and discover the unknown. With unmatched image quality, seven of the world’s largest mirrors will launch our view into the universe to uncover the cosmic mysteries of dark matter, investigate the origins of chemical elements, and search for signs of life on distant exoplanets for the first time.

The 30-meter class telescope is under construction at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the heavens. From this unrivaled vantage into the southern sky, the Giant Magellan Telescope will produce the sharpest and most detailed images ever taken of our universe, ten times greater than the famed Hubble Space Telescope and four times the James Webb Space Telescope.

When complete in the late 2020s, the Giant Magellan Telescope will be the largest public-private funded science project in history. The endeavor was founded by an international consortium of leading universities and research institutions representing five countries, and is managed by the GMTO Corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pasadena, California. Our culture is impactful, inclusive, and fearlessly innovative. We solve the most difficult engineering challenges and scientific questions with talented individuals who share a passion for revolutionizing humanity’s knowledge of the universe.

We invite you to join our team and leave your mark on astronomy’s future and beyond.

The Universe Awaits.

 

JOB SUMMARY

The GMTO Corporation, located in Pasadena, CA is seeking a highly qualified Deputy Project Manager (DPM) to join the Giant Magellan Telescope project leadership team in developing a next-generation extremely large telescope to advance the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics in the 21st Century.

The DPM will report to the GMTO Project Manager (PM) and work closely with other leadership team members, including other Deputy or Assistant Project Managers, the Chief Scientist, Project Systems Engineer, Project Business Manager, Safety & Assurance Managers, Project Engineer, and subsystem Project Element Managers. The DPM is expected to work under limited supervision and to provide a variety of leadership and management functions for a technically challenging engineering development funded by a combination of private and federal (National Science Foundation) resources. The DPM will act with the authority delegated by the PM.

The DPM functions include direct oversight of day-to-day activities of technical, business, and personnel nature. The successful candidate will assist the PM with various project processes, including risk management, change control, technical reviews, project controls, proposal development, and reporting. This position also requires the DPM to work effectively with other team members, providing assistance, coaching and mentoring to Element managers and other technical leads in areas including, but not limited to, resource management, cost/budget/schedule preparation and execution, subcontractor management, technical reviews and other technical issues.

This position may require travel to various GMTO Founder and subcontractor locations.

JOB DUTIES

• Assist in managing the GMTO Project Office, including supervision of Project Office personnel and Project Element Managers (as assigned by the PM) in order to create, track, and control the project budget, schedule, and overall technical performance.
• Assist the PM and Project Systems Engineer with the formal GMTO risk management processes and activities; serve on the Risk Management Board.
• Assist the PM and Project Systems Engineer with GMTO change control of both the technical and schedule/financial baselines.
• Assist the PM in organizing and conducting programmatic and technical reviews.
• Implement practices and policies to properly address technical and programmatic issues and risks.
• Ensure that project documents are complete, current and stored.
• Work closely with the PM, the Project Business Manager and other senior management staff (including those at the Corporate level) to develop overall project plans, budgets, and strategies.
• Assist the PM with management of Project contingency.
• Assist in development of proposals, reports, and other documentation needed to advance the mission of GMTO.
• Work with the subsystem managers and other leads to control project execution to plan, and assist, coach and mentor as required in areas ranging from leadership to subcontract management.
• Assist with interfacing to federal funding agencies, including the National Science Foundation, assuring implementation in conformance with federal standards and processes.
• Work with the PM and other senior management staff to assure adequate technical quality and safety are implemented across the project.
• Work with the PM and other senior management staff to interface with GMTO Founder institutions, subcontractor teams, government organizations, and other scientific organizations to advance the mission of GMTO.

 

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

• Minimum of an MS or similar degree in an Engineering or Science discipline, Contract Management, Program or Business Management.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience and verifiable achievement in project management, contract management, and financial planning and project control.
• A record of ethical, inclusive, and professional behavior and a commitment to creating a respectful, supportive work environment
• Experience leading teams of engineers and scientists to deliver advanced technology systems within scope, budget and time constraints.
• Experience with project management control systems, including earned-value management.
• Experience with risk management processes.
• Experience in strategic planning, developing project plans, and working with budgets in excesses of $50,000,000 to meet project milestones.
• Ability to work effectively with difficult personalities.
• Excellent organizational skills, efficiency, and ability to prioritize work
• Excellent communication skills, written and oral.
• Practical knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of programs, in particular: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Familiarity with resource-loaded schedule tools, such as Oracle Primavera P6, and Monte Carlo analysis techniques for uncertainty estimation.
• Experience documenting and maintaining project records.
• Flexibility to work outside of core business hours and to travel to subcontractor locations from time to time.

 

DESIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

• Experience working in a project management capacity on large-scale, advanced technology and development projects funded by the National Science Foundation. Department of Energy, NASA, and Department of Defense-funded project experience is also relevant.
• Experience with ground-based observatories during design, construction, and operation.
• Experience managing civil engineering construction projects.
• Flexibility with respect to remote work.
• Flexibility to meet the demands of the project and to travel from time to time, including international travel.

 

APPLYING

To apply send your resume and a cover letter to [email protected].

If your skills and experience are a match for the position or if we need additional information, we will contact you. If we do not see a suitable match between your qualifications and the position, we will keep your information on file in the event future positions become available that are more suitable to your qualifications.

The GMTO Corporation is an equal employment opportunity employer.