Project Manager, SKA-Low Digital

At the SKAO we are coordinating a global effort to deliver one of the largest science facilities on the planet. The SKAO telescopes will be next-generation instruments that will help to answer key questions in astrophysics, drive technological innovation and support human capital development. 

More than a dozen partner countries and over a thousand scientists and engineers around the world are already on board, making the SKA project an international collaboration like no other, and one of the most ambitious science and engineering endeavours of the 21st century.

Headquartered in the UK, with telescope sites in Australia and South Africa, the SKAO will be one observatory operating two telescopes, an endeavour spanning three continents. Multinational by design, in early 2021 the SKAO became an intergovernmental organisation, one of only a select handful of science infrastructures to do so worldwide.

Our Global HQ is located near the buzzing city of Manchester at the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Cheshire countryside. It is home to a rapidly expanding international team of more than a hundred, working in a highly collaborative and inclusive way, in coordination with SKAO teams in Australia and South Africa as part of a global astronomy and engineering community.

Being part of Team SKA means contributing to something extraordinary: a uniquely exciting project to advance human knowledge that will last for decades. In return, we offer a diverse multicultural working environment, 30 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme, visa and support with relocation (if applicable), regular social events, a family-friendly environment and much more. Come and join us!

At SKAO, we are recruiting for two Project Managers.

The SKA-Low Digital Project Manager is responsible for coordinating and driving the delivery of the digital systems elements of the SKA-Low Telescope currently under construction in the Murchison region of Western Australia. Digital systems encompass the Signal Processing System (SPS/TPM), the Local Monitoring, Control and Calibration system (MCCS), the Central Signal Processor (CSP), and associated firmware and software.

Working within the SKA-Low Construction Project, the post holder will manage scope, schedule, cost, risk, and stakeholder interfaces across a technically complex portfolio involving international consortia, industrial contractors, and research institutions. The role requires close collaboration with suppliers' project managers and system engineers along with SKAO counterparts such as design authorities and product assurance.

This is a pivotal role at a critical juncture of the project: construction of the SKA-Low Array is advancing rapidly, and the digital systems are central to commissioning and early science readiness. The successful candidates will be a delivery-focused project manager who thrives in a complex, internationally distributed environment.

Job Location Cheshire, UK (Head Office)

The Low Digital Project Manager reports to the SKA-Low Senior Project Manager and sits within the SKA-Low Construction Project team. The role provides day-to-day project management oversight for the digital sub-systems of the telescope, ensuring that deliverables from external suppliers and internal development teams are integrated coherently into the broader station and telescope delivery schedule.

The post holder will work closely with the SKA-Low Digital Design Authority, Software and Firmware leads, the Procurement and Contracts team, and the Project Control function to maintain an accurate, integrated view of digital system progress, cost at completion, and risk exposure. They will serve as the primary project management point of contact for the relevant industrial suppliers and consortium partners responsible for digital system elements, including the CSP.

The post may require travel to contractor sites in Italy, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, to production lines in China and India, and to the SKA-Low telescope site in Western Australia.

These roles are two-year fixed-term and are based at the SKAO Headquarters at Jodrell Bank, UK. 

SKAO is committed to providing an inclusive and flexible working environment, meeting the requests of our Colleagues whilst also fulfilling the needs and objectives of the Observatory. 

There may be occasions where this role requires the post holder to work across different time zones and, in line with SKAO policy, flexible working hours will be supported in agreement with the line manager.

Key Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Duties

• Manage the end-to-end delivery of SKA-Low digital systems scope in line with approved baselines for cost, schedule, and technical performance.
• Maintain and develop the digital systems sub-project schedule within the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) in coordination with the project control team, identifying critical path activities, float consumption, and integration dependencies with hardware and infrastructure works.
• Steer interface management between the digital systems domain and adjacent project areas, including Station Hardware, Central Signal Processor (CSP), antennas, Central Processing Facility infrastructure, Systems Integration & Verification, and Software.
• Monitor and report on contract performance for digital systems suppliers and consortium deliverables; escalate variances and negotiate corrective actions.
• Identify, assess, and manage risks and issues within the digital systems domain, maintaining the relevant risk register entries and ensuring risk response actions are tracked to closure.
• Prepare and present clear, accurate monthly project status reports, and weekly briefings for the SKA-Low Senior Project Manager, and other governance forums as required.
• Support the development and maintenance of Earned Value data for the digital systems work packages, enabling robust performance measurement and forecasting.
• Contribute to change management processes, assessing the impact of proposed changes to digital systems scope on cost, schedule, and technical baseline.
• Coordinate acceptance and qualification activities for digital system deliverables, working with the Systems Integration and Verification team to ensure readiness for handover.
• Support the transition from Construction Phase to Operations Phase by contributing to commissioning planning and knowledge transfer activities.
• Champion SKAO's values of collaboration, diversity, and scientific excellence within the project team and with external partners.
• Several travels to contractor sites in Italy, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, to production lines in China and India, and to the SKA-Low telescope site in Western Australia.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the line manager and senior management.

Mandatory Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Degree-level qualification in project management, engineering, computer science, or a related discipline; or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience of schedule management in a programme or project environment, including the ability to read, interrogate, and update integrated Project schedules (IPS) using tools such as Primavera P6 or MS Project.
• Experience of contract management and supplier/partner oversight in a project delivery context, including monitoring performance against contractual milestones and managing remediation.
• Experience of financial and budgetary planning to be able to agree resources for a defined area as part of forward planning, monitoring progress and adjusting resources or priorities to meet goals.
• Solid understanding of risk management principles, including risk identification, assessment, response planning, and ongoing monitoring.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to synthesise complex technical and commercial information and present it clearly to non-specialist stakeholders.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills, with the ability to produce high-quality project reports, briefings, and documentation.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a multicultural, geographically distributed team, with sensitivity to different working styles and time zones.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Relevant project management qualification (e.g. APM PMQ, PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner or equivalent) demonstrating formal grounding in recognised project management methodologies.
• Demonstrable experience of successfully delivering complex, multi-stakeholder engineering or technology projects, with a minimum of five years in a project management.
• Practical knowledge of digital systems, computing hardware, or embedded signal-processing environments sufficient to engage credibly with technical teams and suppliers without requiring detailed engineering expertise.
• Experience working in a large-scale science infrastructure, big astronomy, defence, telecommunications, or high-performance computing project environment.
• Familiarity with FPGA-based signal processing systems, tile processing modules (TPMs), or similar digital hardware development and integration processes.
• Knowledge of software and firmware development lifecycle management in the context of a hardware-integrated system, including agile and iterative approaches as applied to scientific software.
• Experience of NEC4 or similar engineering procurement contracts and the management of obligations thereunder.
• Familiarity with systems engineering principles and practices, including requirements management, interface control, and verification & validation planning.
• Knowledge of, or experience within, intergovernmental or international consortium organisations, including the management of multi-national partner relationships.
• Experience with project management information systems (PMIS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools in a project delivery context including UNIT4, CEMAR, Confluence, and JIRA. 

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Statement

SKA Observatory recognises that our diversity is a strength. We aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong, and diverse perspectives and ideas thrive. As such, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are at the core of SKA Observatory’s agenda.

Our aim is to recruit and retain the most talented individuals, regardless of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, nationality or background.

Women have traditionally been under-represented in the fields of science and engineering; SKA Observatory welcomes and encourages female applicants. 

Where applicants with a disability need facilities or adjustments to enable them to participate in the recruitment process, these will be provided.

SKA Observatory welcome all candidates, especially those from member countries.

The “How to Apply” information contained within the SKA Observatory recruitment portal provides more detail regarding our application and selection approach.

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