Electronics Technologist, Radio Instrumentation Support

Note

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced the launch of a mandatory vaccination policy across the federal public service.

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NRC employees enjoy a wide range of benefits that include comprehensive medical and dental, pension and insurance plans as well as annual vacation time and other leave. The NRC also offers learning and development opportunities. For more information, please visit our web site .

Your Challenge

Help bring research to life and drive your career forward with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Canada’s largest research and technology organization. 

We are looking for an Electronics Technologist, Radio Instrumentation Support to support our Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (HAA). The Electronics Technologist, Radio Instrumentation Support would be someone who shares our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Respect and Creativity.

We are looking for an Electronics Technologist, Radio Instrumentation Support to join a world-class team of scientists, engineers, and technologists in the development of new instrumentation for radio astronomy and support of existing facilities operated by NRC and its international partners at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO).  DRAO is Canada’s National Facility for radio astronomy, operated by the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (HAA).  

The total staff complement of HAA is about 200 people, of whom 40 work at DRAO, comprising NRC employees and visiting workers from partner institutions. DRAO staff operate world-class radio telescopes on site, develop and build leading-edge radio telescope equipment and other facilities for international radio astronomy projects, and carry out scientific and engineering research. DRAO’s radio telescopes are currently the 7-element Synthesis Telescope (an array of 9-m antennas), the 26-m single antenna John A. Galt Telescope, two instruments dedicated to Solar flux monitoring (a redundant pair of 2-m narrow-band antennas plus a 4-m wide-band antenna), and the DVA2, a 15-m antenna employing a single-piece molded composite reflector that has achieved unprecedented surface precision.  All are in the process of major upgrades, including the modernization of the Solar flux monitors and the Synthesis Telescope, the latter employing an entirely new digital backend and a novel approach to clocking/timing.  DRAO is also home to the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), operated by a UBC-led consortium of Canadian universities.

The Electronics Technologist, Radio Instrumentation Support will proactively provide technical expertise in the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the DRAO telescopes, which are complex assemblages of custom analog, digital, and radio-frequency systems, operating with highly precise timing and sensitivity in order to capture faint cosmic radio emissions.  Identifying and diagnosing faults, and repairing and/or modifying this equipment is a key responsibility of the position. The position also involves site-wide monitoring and mitigation of radio frequency interference (RFI), an essential element in maintaining an environment in which the radio telescopes can detect these emissions.

In addition, the Electronics Technologist, Radio Instrumentation Support, working with NRC and its partners, will assist with the development and construction of new radio astronomy instrumentation, ranging from adding new receivers to existing telescopes, to deploying cutting-edge new radio experiments, to commissioning unique radio telescopes.  Major initiatives underway currently include the deployment of new wide-band receivers on DVA2, the Galt Telescope, and the Synthesis Telescope; experimentation with wide-band RFI detectors; the construction of a 4-m spinning antenna for the UBC-led Canadian Galactic Emission Mapper (CGEM); and the construction of the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD), a large project in collaboration with McGill University, the University of Toronto, the University of Calgary, and the Perimeter Institute, which will build and deploy a 512-element array of 6-m antennas at DRAO over the next four years.

DRAO lies in a rural environment 24 km south of Penticton, BC, the nearest major centre, which has a population of 33,000, and 84 km south of Kelowna, BC, a city of 180,000. The site has one large building complex, occupied by laboratories and offices, as well as telescope buildings, fabrication shops, garages, equipment buildings, and storage buildings.

Education

Diploma from a 2400-hour Electronics Engineering Technology Program.  An equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.

Experience

  • *Recent experience in the design, fabrication, and testing of analog and digital radio-frequency circuits and systems in a team environment;
  • Recent experience in the operation, maintenance, and trouble-shooting of complex electronic systems in a team environment; and
  • Recent experience working with suppliers and vendors in the procurement of electronic components and supplies.

*Recent refers to experience acquired within the past 5 years.

Language Requirements

English

Vous pouvez retrouver ce poste en français sur notre site Internet à l'adresse suivante :  Technologue en électronique, Soutien à l'instrumentation radio (nrc-cnrc.gc.ca)