Job Description

Date Posted:

01/14/2026

Req ID:

46607

Faculty/Division:

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department:

Dunlap Inst. for Astronomy & Astrophysic

Campus:

St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Position Number:

00056031

Existing Vacancy:

Yes

Description:

About us:

The Faculty of Arts & Science is the heart of Canada's leading university and one of the most comprehensive and diverse academic divisions in the world. The strength of Arts & Science derives from our combined teaching and research excellence in the humanities, sciences and social sciences across 29 departments, seven colleges and 46 interdisciplinary centres, institutes and programs.




We can only realize our mission with the dedication and excellence of engaged staff and faculty. The diversity of opportunities and perspectives within the Faculty reflect the local and global landscape and the need for curiosity, innovative thinking and collaboration. At Arts & Science, we take pride in our legacy of innovation and discovery that has changed the way we think about the world.

Your opportunity:

At the Dunlap Institute's Long Wavelength Lab (LWLab) we build and operate novel radio telescopes to address fundamental questions in cosmology and astrophysics. Under the general direction of the Principal Investigator, this position is responsible for leading the design and development of cutting-edge radio correlators, the supercomputer backends which power modern radio telescopes. The LWlab built and operates the largest such backend on the planet, as part of the CHIME telescope, performing peta-scale computation on Tbps of streaming data; we are developing both an upgraded version of that instrument, and the even more complex backend for the upcoming CHORD instrument. This position will lead the development of these backends, coordinating and directing a team of roughly a dozen researchers and developers spread across participating institutions. The successful candidate will ensure capabilities and equipment meet or exceed requirements, are deployed on schedule, and will interface with the wider scientific collaborations to optimally align efforts to scientific outcomes.



Key responsibilities include: coordinating and overseeing software development activities between six Canadian universities and other partners; developing a uniform codebase through a central repository; and ensuring that all components are interoperable and meet scientific and technical specifications. The incumbent also coordinates, prioritizes and oversees the project's software milestones, feature requests and bug reports; participates in the project's management committee; and facilitates multi-site collaboration.

Your responsibilities will include:

Analyzing, recommending, and designing highly complex software architecture Reconciling business requirements with information architecture needs for highly complex system integration Designing, testing, and modifying programming code Analyzing, recommending and designing technical solutions for highly complex IT problems Evaluating programming code to ensure it has validity, compatibility, and that it meets appropriate standards Troubleshooting issues uncovered by testing or user feedback Leading and planning IT projects Serving as an expert resource to a group of professionals in the speciality

Essential Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or an equivalent combination of acceptable education and experience. Minimum five (5) years of recent and related experience in software development and software product management for radio telescopes Experience in managing and offering technical advice to a team of software developers Demonstrated experience in developing hardware backends for radio telescopes Hands-on experience with nix environments, with a strong focus on Linux
Proven experience eliciting, expressing, prioritizing and analyzing user requirements, functional requirements, non-functional product requirements and external interfaces Experience in interpreting raw data streams from radio telescopes or similar data Experience with relational database design and maintenance Hands-on experience in High Performance Computing ('HPC'), especially involving massively parallel applications Strong debugging/bug-tracking/code review/documentation experience Advanced programming skills in Python and bash Experience with cluster computing and job scheduling systems (e.g. Slurm, HTCondor), containerization (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud infrastructures (e.g. OpenStack, AWS) Advanced programming skills in Python and bash Experience with Ansible, Docker Excellent software project management skills Advanced skills in Git Superior problem solving and analytical ability Demonstrated sensitivity to organizational priorities with the ability to multi-task Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate and explain technical issues to non-technical users in a clear and precise manner Demonstrated ability to work well as a team member and independently Demonstrated ability to work in a high-pressure environment

Assets (Nonessential):

Experience with relational database design and maintenance Experience with major radio telescopes in Canada (DRAO 26m, synthesis telescope, CHIME; ARO 26m, 10m; upcoming CHORD), on the new CHIME/FRB Outrigger telescopes in the US, and/or South Africa's HIRAX project

To be successful in this role you will be:

Communicator Efficient Goal oriented Multi-tasker Organized Proactive Problem solver Self-directed

Notes:

If you are a current USW staff member, please apply using the "Current Staff Apply Here" button on the University of Toronto Careers page. This role may be eligible for an Alternative Work Arrangement in accordance with the University of Toronto's Alternative Work Arrangements Guideline.

Closing Date:

01/22/2026, 11:59PM ET

Employee Group:

USW

Appointment Type

: Grant - Continuing

Schedule:

Full-Time

Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:

USW Pay Band 16 - $103,367. with an annual step progression to a maximum of $132,188. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.

Job Category:

Information Technology (IT)

Lived Experience Statement

Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.