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.

Construction activities for the SKAO's telescopes in Australia and South Africa started in 2021, along with a ramping up of SKAO staff in both countries. It is expected that the transition from the Construction Phase to the Operations Phase will happen around 2028.

SKAO Operations in South Africa will be conducted in partnership with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO). SKAO Operations in Australia will be conducted in partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The Observatory will also partner closely with a global network of SKA Regional Centres through which astronomers will access science data products and a suite of tools and resources to further analyse the SKA telescopes' data.

For more information on the SKA project visit https://www.skao.int/





The SKA Observatory offers a competitive salary and a generous pension and benefits package. As an employee of an intergovernmental organisation, an appointee who is not a national of the country in which the role is based may be subject to personal Privileges and Immunities.

Job LocationPerth, Australia

SKAO is delivering one of the world’s most advanced scientific instruments: a complex, globally distributed observatory built through tightly coordinated engineering, integration, commissioning and operational readiness activities. Delivery is milestone- and verification-led, with progress governed through formal requirements, system integration gates, commissioning evidence and readiness for real telescope operations.

Within this context, Product Management helps ensure that delivery remains focused on the outcomes that matter most for the telescope and its users. The role is not simply about managing a backlog; it is about connecting user needs, scientific and operational value, engineering delivery, and programme commitments.

You will help to:

- frame problems around the people who will use, operate and support the telescope, the behaviour changes needed, and the value we expect to create;
- translate outcomes into sequenced, testable increments that fit programme milestones, integration constraints and delivery realities;




- define “done” through measurable success criteria and evidence, aligned with verification, commissioning and operational needs;
- support clear prioritisation and trade-off decisions across a broad stakeholder landscape, protecting telescope outcomes while recognising programme constraints.

You will provide day-to-day product leadership across the SKA-Low telescope, working closely with distributed teams of engineers, architects, operations, commissioning and science staff, as well as project and programme leadership and other members of the Product Management team.

This is a fixed-term appointment to the end of June 2029 and will be based in Perth, Australia.

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

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

You will provide product leadership for the SKA-Low telescope construction programme. Your role is to help define the right goals, turn them into clear priorities, and ensure teams build the right things, in the right order, with evidence that the work supports integration, commissioning and operations.

You will:

- Define and own productgoalsforthe SKA-Low Telescope, aligned with the telescope strategy, delivery milestones, and operational needs, and translate them into a clear roadmap.
- Understand needs and frame priorities, working with users, operators, engineers, architects, commissioning teams and science

📌 SKA-Low Product Manager (Western Australia)
🏢 Skao
📍 Western Australia