Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

This role is within the CSIRO Space Program. In the role you will work with the Space Research Group leader to help develop a program that builds world-leading capability and drives cutting-edge research within CSIRO. The Space Program seeks to achieve impact through novel mission-directed, multi?disciplinary and collaborative science and engineering across Business Units in CSIRO and with external collaborators. 

CSIRO’s space objectives are to: 

• Develop and manage national space facilities (such as the NovaSAR-1 satellite facility and the ISRU lunar testbed facility)
• Apply the opportunities of space to solve the greatest national challenges (such as drought, water, climate change, food security, plastic waste, future industries, disasters) 
• Stimulate innovation by strengthening our role and capabilities in space science and space exploration.

Current CSIRO space activities span application areas including Earth observation, small satellite technologies, robotics, remote operations and resource utilisation, communications, space object tracking, materials and manufacturing, and space life sciences (for more information visit www.csiro.au/space). The portfolio of research within the Space Program will evolve over time on the basis of changing domain needs, strategy and performance.

The successful candidate will provide space engineering expertise to a multi-disciplinary portfolio of discrete space technology research projects within CSIRO’s Space Program. In conjunction with project leaders, you will develop pathways to implementation (including spaceflight) for key technologies, including verification, testing, and operations planning, and help to carry these out. The candidate will also play a significant role in the identification of opportunities for collaboration and expansion with internal and external partners. The role will also manage the review and milestone reporting processes for the space technologies portfolio. Technologies currently under development include:

• Radiation shielding materials
• Ultra-lightweight solar cells
• Satellite optical payloads
• Next generation batteries
• High-resolution 3D scanning technologies
• In situ resource utilisation and space robotics
• Lunar dust mitigation coatings
• High-speed satellite-to-satellite communications technologies

Your duties will include:

• Responsibility for the development and verification of cutting-edge space technologies alongside project leaders and research scientists. This includes:
  • Defining the verification process and model philosophy
  • Writing and implementing test plans and procedures
  • Identifying and mitigating key technological and programmatic risks
  • Providing space expertise to research scientists across CSIRO
• Working closely with project leaders, research scientists and business development managers to identify paths to impact, implementation, and commercialisation within the space domain
• Acting as the primary technical interface between space technology project leaders and external launch providers and regulators
• Assisting with financial management, contract management, communications, and intellectual property portfolio for the Space Research Group as required
• Maintaining confidentiality and appropriately manage commercially sensitive information of CSIRO and/or research or commercial partners
• Playing a key advisory role in decisions concerning technological direction of the CSIRO Space Program
• Contributing to project scoping, planning and engineering design for new space technology projects where relevant
• Contributing to the development of research papers related to the space technologies projects
• Addressing ill-defined problems and make critical choices between options that require knowledge of the most recent scientific and/or technological developments or novel methodologies in relation to space engineering

Location: Marsfield (Sydney) NSW or Canberra, ACT. Other locations may be considered
Salary: AU$121,455 - AU$142,321 plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Up to 31 December 2025, Full-time, Part-time (0.8 FTE min) or Job-share
Reference: 91540

To be considered you will need:

Essential
Under CSIRO policy only those who meet all essential criteria can be appointed.

• Relevant degree in an engineering or applied physics field together with at least 5-10 years’ experience in engineering of spacecraft or space products
• Strong technical understanding of spacecraft systems, subsystems and the space environment
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including high quality written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated success working in a multidisciplinary team

Desirable

• An understanding of the Australian space regulatory requirements for launch, such as licencing and export controls 
• Strong knowledge and understanding of relevant NASA, ESA or other international space system standards, requirements and implementation processes

For full details about this role please review the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or you must either hold, or be able to obtain, a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

19 April 2023, 11:00pm AEST/AEDT