The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has seven permanent positions open, six based at its Cape Town offices and one at Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. The National Research Foundation (NRF), which manages SARAO as a National Facility, advertises all seven.
Two of the roles close on 10 September 2026, leaving applicants very little time. The first is a Security Engineer in Cape Town, a skilled/middle management post covering the observatory’s IT network, its building management system network and, notably, the Telescope Hardware Network. The successful candidate will run day-to-day network security operations, execute vulnerability scanning and internal penetration testing, and help implement SARAO’s cybersecurity strategy and governance. It requires a bachelor’s degree in information technology or computer science, a network security certification such as CCNP or CompTIA Security+, and five years of IT networking experience in threat management and incident response.
The second is an Electrical Technician based in Carnarvon, responsible for inspection, fault-finding and maintenance on low- and medium-voltage installations, including switching on medium-voltage switchgear up to 33 kV. Applicants need a trade-tested electrician qualification, certification for MV work up to 33 kV, and three years’ experience in MV distribution, transformers, protection systems, and motor and generator maintenance. A wireman’s licence is preferred.
The remaining five close on 23 September 2026 and are all based in Cape Town.
Four of them sit in electrical and infrastructure engineering. The Electrical Engineer post covers technical design, trade-off studies, contractor compliance, and monitoring of the observatory’s electricity supply agreement conditions, and requires a B.Tech with six years’ experience, a B.Eng or M.Tech with four, an M.Eng with three, or a PhD with one. The Senior Electrical Technician role runs electrical design and project delivery across sites and monitors Eskom supply against contract; it requires a National Diploma with nine years’ experience or a B.Tech with six. The Electrician, the only junior-level vacancy in the set, supports installation, fault diagnosis and asset registers across the MeerKAT and Hartbeesthoek facilities, and needs a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering plus a trade test, a wireman’s licence and three years’ experience. The Senior Fibre Technician will install and maintain optical fibre networks at the telescope sites, with nine years in fibre splicing, at least five of them in fusion splicing, and FOA certification.
The seventh vacancy is the most specialised. The Senior Logistics Engineer post is explicitly a product development logistics engineering role rather than a business or operations one, working on the SKA-Mid and MeerKAT telescopes to influence design for supportability and deliver their operational support baselines. It calls for logistics support analysis, FMECA and RAM work against standards including ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and MIL-STD 1388, and 5 to 13 years of experience depending on qualification level.
Applications for all seven go through the NRF recruitment portal at ess.nrf.ac.za, with a comprehensive CV, a letter of motivation and the contact details of at least three referees. The NRF notes that it will make appointments in line with its Employment Equity Plan and will contact only shortlisted candidates.
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