Join the world (universal) renowned Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley as a Research & Development Project Engineer! Your research will involve searching for radio signals from technological civilizations in the universe. The research will also involve use of telescopes at the Lick Observatory to search for extraterrestrial life. Interested? Go to http://bit.ly/1hX1bh2

1. Job Announcement: Research & Development Project Engineer
About UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world’s most iconic teaching and research
institutions. Since 1868, Berkeley has fueled a perpetual renaissance, generating unparalleled
intellectual, economic and social value in California, the United States and the world. Berkeley’s
culture of openness, freedom and acceptance—academic and artistic, political and cultural—
make it a very special place for students, faculty and staff.
Berkeley is committed to hiring and developing staff who want to work in a high performing
culture that supports the outstanding work of our faculty and students. In deciding whether to
apply for a staff position at Berkeley, candidates are strongly encouraged to consider the
alignment of the Berkeley Workplace Culture with their potential for success at
http://jobs.berkeley.edu/why-berkeley.html
The Department of Astronomy Overview
As part of College of Letters and Science, Department of Astronomy offers undergraduate and
graduate instruction in a wide variety of fields, including theoretical and observational
astrophysics; infrared, optical, and radio astronomy; galactic structure and dynamics of stellar
systems; high-energy astrophysics and cosmology; and spectroscopy.
On July 13, 2015, UC Berkeley signed a contract with the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. This
new contract obligates UC Berkeley to carry out a major new research program called the
“Breakthrough Listen Initiative”. The work involves designing and constructing new high speed,
digital electronics and novel signal processing software, able to interpret signals at billions of
operations per second, i.e. GigaHertz speeds (GHz). The work also involves deploying, testing,
and operating these electronics and software at two of the world’s largest radio telescopes,
Green Bank and Parkes. The research involves searching for radio signals from technological

2. civilizations in the universe. Approximately $4.4M in funding will flow to Berkeley for this work,
to pay for personnel and hardware. The research will also involve use of telescopes at the Lick
Observatory to search for extraterrestrial life. In addition, related projects at Berkeley include
HERA, CMB polarization experiments, and multiple research projects within the Radio
Astronomy Lab.
The R&D Engineer 4 will plan organize and perform the work of a professional engineer in a
specialized engineering phase and will function as the project manager. The R&D Engineer 4 will
also represent the PI during meetings and conferences and will assist with cost analysis and
training in the lab.
This is a 3 year contract position with full-UC benefits.
Responsibilities
Project Management - Leads the design, construction, assembly and testing of complex
experimental equipment and instrument systems. Provides cost analysis using time schedules
and budgetary considerations.
• Involving both analog and digital electronics, including computer interfaces,
embedded networked systems, robotics, optics, real-time systems, radio
antennas, amplification and isolations, actuators and sensors.
• Defines both archival and transport data formats, control methodologies,
evaluates performance and implements changes to meet performance goals.
• Designs and deploys systems to ensure data quality and accuracy of
measurement.
• Interacts with faculty/research staff in the design and development phase.
• Identifies project specifications and parameters.
• Provides engineering information and advice to Principal Investigators and
research personnel with administrative responsibility for the research
program.
• Evaluates possible technological solutions for implementing project goals in
consultation with the Chief Scientist.
• Determines cost effectiveness of various solutions, including impacts on
performance, scalability, extensibility and ease-of-use.
Networking and Training - Attends professional conferences and symposia related to the
technologies developed and employed, stays abreast of current best practices in the field.
• Assist and train lower level Development Engineers in project-specific

3. techniques, languages, methods and protocols.
Required Qualifications
Expert Knowledge:
• Extensive experience in the design, implementation, testing and operation of
heterogeneous digital instrumentation for astronomy applications, including field-
programmable-gate-array (FPGA) and graphics-processing-unit (GPU) components.
• Significant experience designing and deploying observer-supplied instrumentation
at national and international radio telescopes, including interfacing with
observatory metadata and intermediate-frequency signal transport systems.
• Expert-level proficiency in Unix system architecture, high throughput Ethernet
networks, 10/40 GbE switch operation.
• Expert-level familiarity with Xilinx FPGA computing boards, Matlab/Simulink FPGA
development environments and FPGA system integration.
• Expert-level familiarity with signal processing concepts in radio astronomy, including
filtering, mixing, quantization, channelization and accumulation in both analog and
digital domains.
• Expert-level proficiency in at last 5 of the following programming languages: Ruby,
C, C++, CUDA, OPENCL, PERL, PYTHON, BASH.
• Extensive experience with version control systems for source code management.
Education/ Training:
• Advanced degree in related area and/or equivalent experience/training preferred
Salary & Benefits
The position is an exempt with a full-time salary annualized range of $82,500 - $135,000
For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University visit:
http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html
Criminal Background Check
This position has been designated as sensitive and may require a Criminal Background
Check. We reserve the right to make employment contingent upon successful
completion of a Criminal Background Check.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex,

4. national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California
nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see:
http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct
If you’d like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please see:
http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf
How to Apply
• Go to jobs.berkeley.edu and enter Job ID# 20323 or click here.
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Campbell Hall, home of the Department of Astronomy
This new state-of-the-art facility houses our faculty, members, and our in-house research units, resources, and labs.
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