Million Year Ice Core Drill System Engineer

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is part of the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. As primary agency for Australia's Antarctic Program (AAP), the AAD is responsible for achieving the Australian Government's Antarctic goals. 
These goals are to: 

• maintain the Antarctic Treaty System and enhance Australia's influence within it 
• protect the Antarctic environment
• understand the role of Antarctica in the global climate system 
• undertake scientific work of practical, economic and national significance. 

The AAD also has responsibility for administering the Australian Antarctic Territory and the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands.

The Operations and Logistics Branch oversees our operations in Antarctica – supporting people in our year-round research stations and remote field bases. The branch oversees air and sea transport (and the contracts to manage Australia’s icebreaker, the RSV Nuyina and Aviation capabilities) to transport expeditioners south and enable them to travel around Antarctica. We have staff with diverse skills, located primarily in Tasmania, in Antarctica and on Macquarie Island.

The Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) project is a multiyear drilling activity being conducted at Dome Concordia North, approximately 1150 kms inland from Casey Station. The project is a key action item of the Australian Antarctic Science Strategic Plan and Australian Antarctic Strategy and 20 Year Action Plan. The objective is to drill, analyse and interpret Antarctica's oldest continuous ice core to improve understanding of past and future climate, carbon cycle and ice sheet stability. Drilling commenced in the 2024-25 and will continue out to 2028-29 season. The MYIC Inland Station drilling camp at Dome C North operates only in summer, for ca. 8 weeks per field season and is supported by a resupply traverse from Casey Station and air access via the nearby French-Italian Dome Concordia station. The project is muti-disciplinary, involving cooperation and collaboration across AAD Branches. The position will report to the MYIC project Lead Scientist.

The key duties of the position include:

You will lead the operation, maintenance and continued improvement of the electronic components of the AAD MYIC deep ice drill and associated drill-system infrastructure and engineering documentation. The drill system consists of an 8-m drill sonde with a motor, gear box and cutting head that recovers 3m long 98 mm diameter ice cores. Power and communications to and from the drill are delivered by a twisted-pair cable spooled onto a four-tonne winch that is used to lower and raise the drill sonde in the fluid-filled borehole. A mechanical drill tower is used to tilt the drill from the vertical drilling orientation to the horizontal orientation for ice core extraction. Control systems include a top-side modem, computer systems onboard the drill and topside and web-page and sever software to support communications, data logging and data interrogation. During 8-week summer Antarctic field deployments, the Drill System Engineer will be expected, under limited direction, to: 

• Lead the operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of the electronic, control and communications components of the deep ice drill, drill tower, winch and associated drill-system infrastructure including borehole logging equipment. 
• Support the embedded drill system hardware and software including troubleshooting and programming.  
• Also assist with servicing, maintenance and/or replacement of mechanical components of the drill. 
• Work with scientists and other staff to tune drill settings to optimise ice core quality.  

For the majority of the year working at head office facilities, the Drill System Engineer will be expected, under limited direction, to: 

• Ensure drill system communications, electronic and mechanical systems are operational, serviced and improved where required, including planning and risk management. 
• Select and maintain a suitable inventory of spares for the drill system. 
• Transfer, manage and align the drill system IP documentation (Electronics CAD, Software & Hardware) in accordance with AAD documentation standards consisting of Content Manager, Solidworks PDM and git. 
• Select, acquire and modify new or existing equipment to meet drill-system requirements. 
• Provide advice on complex technical issues to the AAD and other stakeholders including scientists, and other personnel in support of the MYIC project. 
• Design and fabricate other complex technical and scientific equipment, e.g. borehole logging and monitoring equipment. 
• Specify and purchase materials and parts. 
• Attend meetings, build and maintain connections with international peers and collaborators in the ice core drilling community. 
• Perform drill system management tasks including line management of MYIC drill system staff, planning, scheduling, maintaining issue registers and budget tracking. 

Eligibility

Mandatory qualifications

• A degree in electronic or mechatronic engineering from an Australian tertiary institution or a comparable tertiary qualification (e.g. aeronautical engineering) and demonstrated experience.

Citizenship - to be eligible for employment with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water you must be an Australian citizen.

Pre-employment checks - your suitability for employment will be assessed through a pre-employment screening process. This process includes a requirement to undergo and satisfy a National Police Check, referee checks, character clearance and where required a pre-employment medical assessment, specified mandatory qualification(s) validation and a probation period. 

Notes

This position will be based at the AAD head office in Kingston, Tasmania. Facilities and bench space will be available in the AAD Instrument Workshop (IWS) and the MYIC cage area. The Drill System Engineer will be expected to work collaboratively with the IWS, MYIC science team, Polar Technologies staff and Traverse staff. Please note that the successful applicant will be required to travel to the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions therefore they will be expected to meet specific medical, adaptability and personal qualities appropriate to working in those environments. 

They will need to: 

• demonstrate the range of personal qualities and interpersonal skills necessary to perform as a successful team member within isolated Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments 
• demonstrate an ability to effectively adapt and respond to the demands of living and working in an isolated and confined environment as determined by a psychological (adaptability) assessment 
• be certified as fit for Antarctic service by the AAD’s Polar Medicine Unit.