Systems Verification Engineer

Submission Information
Publish Date: 
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Archive Date: 
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Job Summary
Job Category: 
Other
Institution Classification/Type: 
Other
Institution/Company: 
AURA
City: 
La Serena
State/Province: 
Coquimbo
Country: 
Chile
Announcement
Job Announcement Text: 

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is an 8.4 m telescope designed to conduct an imaging survey over much of the southern sky repeatedly over a 10-year period.  The data from the Rubin Observatory will be unprecedented in scale and sensitivity to faint objects and will enable a wide range of science from exploration of the Time Domain to Dark Matter and Dark Energy. The sky survey from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is sure to fundamentally change how humanity perceives and understands the Universe in which we live.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory (formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) is seeking a Systems Verification Engineer to focus on planning for the Commissioning phase of the project, which includes developing verification plans, test cases, test specifications and procedures. During Commissioning the Systems Verification Engineer will contribute to verification activities, track progress, and work with other members of the team to develop responses to non-compliances. The Systems Verification Engineer will also maintain the Failure Modes Effects and Causality Analysis (FMECA), Hazard Analysis, and Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) for the system to understand system behavior leading into Commissioning and Operations. The work will be done in a MBSE environment. The position will be based in La Serena, Chile and reports to the Systems Engineering Manager.

The Rubin Observatory's Project Systems Engineering (PSE) team is responsible for project-level systems engineering functions, including technical oversight and planning for the project. The PSE team is also responsible for leading and coordinating the final system integration and commissioning of the Rubin Observatory System. The PSE is responsible for properly defining, decomposing, and maintaining technical performance, functional, and interface requirements and then ensuring that all of the requirements are properly verified and validated, resulting in a commissioned system that meets all stakeholders’ needs. Inherent in this scope is the need to develop and manage requirements, verification plans, performance estimates, cross-subsystem interfaces, cross-subsystem deliverables, and integration, commissioning and operations plans. Additionally, Project Systems Engineering develops and implements common processes, conducts risk and opportunity management, and implements change and configuration control. The PSE team utilizes Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to manage many of the typical systems engineering functions.

Essential Functions:

  • Develop detailed system and subsystem verification plans
  • Generate verification (test) cases and verification (test) procedures to verify requirements in System Integration and Commissioning
  • Track verification activities in system integration and commissioning and develop responses to non-compliances
  • Maintain and update the observatory SysML model in MagicDraw
  • Contribute to and monitor the evolution of system and subsystem level requirements
  • Contribute to and monitor the evolution of interfaces between subsystems
  • Contribute to and monitor the early cross-subsystem deliverables
  • Facilitate the implementation of approved change and deviation requests
  • Contribute to the development and refinement of Systems Engineering processes
  • Contribute to the management of Risks and Opportunities
  • All AURA employees are responsible for the proper management and control of all AURA property within their work area, whether assigned to them or someone else. This responsibility includes reporting any known missing, stolen, or non-working property in their work area to their supervisor or the AURA Property Officer.
  • Responsible for ensuring compliance with government award terms and conditions assigned to this position or subordinates of this position as defined in the Vela Award Management system.

Required Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

  • Candidates for this position will possess a general understanding of Systems Engineering fundamentals, including the requirements, verification, and validation processes; interface management; integration plan development; functional and physical architectural definition and decomposition; and behavioral definition. The ideal candidate will have a basic understanding of how Systems Engineers support projects in the assembly, integration, and verification/validation phases of a project and have previous experience with or knowledge of Model Based Systems Engineering.
  • Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering discipline.
  • Understanding of traditional Systems Engineering processes (as defined by the International Council on Systems Engineering – INCOSE) as demonstrated by course work and/or experience.
  • Three or more years of professional experience working as a Systems Engineer.
  • Experience with the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) and object oriented Model Based Systems Engineering.
  • Ability to speak and write effectively, including preparation and presentation of reports.
  • Attention to detail and commitment to achieving high quality results on time.
  • Ability to cooperate with and obtain the support of others.
  • Ability to speak and write fluently in both English and Spanish languages.

Preferred Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

  • Experience with documenting undesired behavior via FMECA and/or Hazard Analysis techniques. Experience with documenting desired system behavior using state machine, use case, activity decomposition, or similar techniques
  • Experience with software development
  • Experience with Quality Assurance / Quality Control
  • Experience executing projects in the assembly, integration, and verification/validation phases
  • Experience with MagicDraw or another MBSE tool
  • Experience working on telescopes or other similarly complex systems

If you would like to apply for this opportunity, please submit your CV/Resume and a Cover Letter in English (PDF files) as well as a 3 professional references (with email addresses). Please name any attachments with the following format:  LastnameDocname. Application documents that are not uploaded as part of the application may be sent to [email protected]

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a consortium of over 40 US institutions and three international affiliates that operates world-class astronomical observatories. AURA’s role is to establish, nurture, and promote public observatories and facilities that advance innovative astronomical research. AURA is responsible for managing the operations of the NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, the National Solar Observatory, and the construction of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope under cooperative agreements with the National Science Foundation and operations of the Space Telescope Science Institute under contracts with NASA.

AURA, as a leader in the astronomical community, is committed to diversity and inclusion. AURA develops and supports programs that advance our organizational commitment to diversity, broaden participation, and encourage the advancement of diversity throughout the astronomical scientific workforce. Learn more at http://www.aura-astronomy.org/diversity

As a recipient of U.S. Government funding, AURA is considered a government contractor and is subject to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action regulations. As an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, AURA and all of the centers, do not discriminate based on race, sex, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender identity expression, lawful political affiliations, veteran status, disability, and/or any other legally protected status under applicable federal, state, and local equal opportunity laws. 

Veterans, disabled individuals or wounded warriors needing assistance with the employment process should request assistance at [email protected]

Included Benefits: 

AURA provides a generous compensation package including health coverage, paid time off and retirement benefits.

Application Deadline: 
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Current Status of Position: 
Accepting Applicants
Apply to Job
Attention To: 
AURA Human Resources
Institution/Company Job ID or Reference Code: 
SYSTE03491
Inquiries About Job
Attention To: 
AURA Human Resources