Consultant (Seasonal)

AURA/NOIRLab has an immediate opening for a Senior Planning Consultant with US-ELT. The Senior IT Consultant (Seasonal Employee) support the development of the cost, schedule, and planning framework for the cross-program NOIRLab Program Platform (NPP). Focus on producing credible planning products to support NPP maturation and phased development across NOIRLab programs, including the definition and refinement of project scope, work breakdown structures, assumptions, staffing profiles, cost estimates, and integrated schedules. Works closely with project management, systems engineering, software leadership, and program stakeholders to translate technical scope, requirements, architecture, reuse assumptions, and implementation strategy into a defensible cost and schedule package to include: helping structure and document the Basis of Estimate, supporting schedule logic and milestone planning, identifying dependencies and risks that affect delivery, and participating in internal and external reviews as needed.

Essential Functions:

• Lead the development and refinement of cost estimates for the cross-program NPP effort
• Assist in the development of project plans, work breakdown structures, staffing profiles, and budget frameworks
• Translate technical and management inputs into a credible Basis of Estimate and associated planning assumptions
• Support development of the integrated master schedule, including milestone structure, dependencies, schedule logic, and critical path inputs
• Review management, engineering, architecture, requirements, and technical planning documents to ensure alignment with cost and schedule products
• Identify planning risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that affect estimate credibility and schedule realism
• Support updates to cost and schedule products as the NPP scope, architecture, reuse strategy, and pathfinders/pilot evidence mature
• Participate in internal and external reviews and help respond to review comments related to planning, cost, and schedule
• Provide planning guidance to project leadership on scope boundaries, phasing, contingencies, and delivery assumptions
• Contribute to the preparation of review-ready documentation for major decision points and project milestones
• All AURA employees are responsible for the proper management and control of all AURA property within their work area, whether assigned to them or someone else. This responsibility includes reporting any known missing, stolen, or non-working property in their work area to their supervisor or the AURA Property Officer.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with government award terms and conditions assigned to this position or subordinates of this position.

Other Functions:

• Other duties as assigned

Required Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• 15 or more years of experience as a senior manager, senior consultant, or equivalent
• technical planning lead in scientific or engineering data management systems
• development
• Demonstrated high level of expertise in defining, estimating, and documenting cost and
• schedule for complex scientific data management systems
• Experience supporting proposal development and all major phases of the system life
• cycle, including concept, design, development, integration, test, deployment, and
• operations planning
• Experience developing or contributing to work breakdown structures, Basis of Estimate
• packages, staffing models, and integrated schedules
• Strong ability to review and interpret technical and management documentation and
• translate it into credible planning products
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly document
• assumptions, rationale, risks, and dependencies
• Bachelor’s degree or higher

Preferred Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• Experience with astronomy, observatory, or scientific research software systems
• Experience estimating costs and schedules for software platforms that integrate multiple systems, stakeholders, or organizations
• Familiarity with phased review environments such as conceptual, preliminary, or final design maturity
• Experience working with cross-functional teams including project management, systems engineering, software architecture, and science operations
• AURA and NSF cost estimating and scheduling experience is a plus.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk; or hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms and stoop; kneel; crouch; or crawl.
• The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• Must possess - sufficient mobility, strength, or dexterity in both arms and hands and both legs to a) reach upward, sideways, downward to work with paper files; b) sufficient mobility and dexterity to utilize computer systems, fax machines, copiers, and other office machines.
• Must possess – 1) ability to read and understand instructions, drawings, safety guides, and other written materials necessary to perform job; 2) sufficient visual capacity to perform the applicable functions without assistance of visual aids other than eye contacts or eye glasses; 3) sufficient spoken aural capacity to hear and understand instructions, warning bells, fire alarms, or shouted instructions without assistance of auditory aids other than a hearing aid; and 4) ability to impart information orally so that others understand and can respond appropriately
• Some travel may be necessary in or outside the contiguous United States.