Jobs

Opportunities for careers in information technology fall into five main streams - scientific computation support, global telecommunications, support to research activities, operational support, and the latest in office technology. In each of these areas we are looking for energetic, dynamic individuals dedicated to learning, who will be effective contributors in one of the world's foremost internationally recognized centres of excellence in scientific computing and telecommunications that operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

The following descriptions provide detail on our activities and operations, and illustrate the opportunities available for knowledgeable, adaptable and dedicated individuals.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications networks currently operate over 90 communication nodes across Canada. An additional 140 nodes are anticipated in the near future. These networks are the key to all communications within the department and contain links that connect Environment Canada to international organizations and networks, other government departments, the GTS (Global Telecommunications System), the US National Weather Service in Washington, DC, and the British meteorological service. Environment Canada was one of the first government departments to employ Internet use on a global scale and to build an Intranet for the department.

Telecommunications are vital to the operations of Environment Canada weather services, particularly the collection of data and dissemination of weather products. Utility of the networks must be maintained and they must be available for use around-the-clock, 365 days a year. Acquisition, client support, configuration management, and web-server management are just a few of the many ongoing operations. Software and maintenance, and system support for national applications are also essential to the effective day-to-day operation of the network and the business of forecasting the weather.

Scientific Computational Facilities

The scientific computational facility at the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) in Dorval, Quebec, is unique to Canada, and is one of about ten similar facilities in the world. Our IT specialists ensure that the department has access to the facilities necessary for it to maintain the integrity of the weather program. Planning, acquiring, integration into operation, testing, overall system administration, real-time access to the supercomputers, the ancillary computer infrastructure, robotic data storage facilities, archive servers, scientific workstations and computational servers all form part of the necessary components.

Support to research activities

Information technology professionals in research work in teams with scientists and technicians doing research on atmospheric pollutants. The work environment resembles a university setting. Computing facilities include the latest technology in supercomputers, UNIX workstations, and personal computers. Projects often involve collaboration in a team setting with scientists from around the world. Conference attendance is often provided. IT specialists work on projects such as:

data

acquisition systems that collect air pollution measurements at sites across the country

analyzing

data through the use of graphics and statistics

designing

web pages

Information technology specialists plan for the computational needs of their work team, including computing hardware and software. Expertise includes system administration for UNIX Windows/NT, and Windows/95, and programming in C, Oracle, SAS, FORTRAN, and Visual Basic. There are many opportunities to be creative. Work on projects is often done from conception to implementation, giving the satisfaction of seeing accomplishments put to use.

Operational Support

The department has IT specialists in all the regions, located at their services offices. Their IT activities fall into three broad categories: development of scientific and operational applications, office technology and telecommunications and computing infrastructure. The major activities in support of scientific programs are in the weather forecasting program. IT staff develop and support applications: receive weather information from observing sites, radar and satellite systems and from other centres; analyze and process the information; carry out computation and display; and communicate and disseminate forecasts and warnings. They are also responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of national and regional Environment Canada information systems. These programs operate on a number of UNIX workstations and servers. The office technology system consists of NT servers and W95 clients; applications include email, access to financial and human resource systems, and desktop applications. Infrastructure activities include physical computer room facilities (UPS, EPS, air and power conditioning), local and wide area networks, satellite antenna systems and internal and public web servers.

Office Technology

We provide office technology systems for two locations: Dorval, Quebec, which houses the scientific computational and telecommunications facilities, and Toronto (Downsview), Ontario. Office technology specialists provide assistance with, and maintenance of, personal computers and software, Local Area Networks (LANs), and interconnections, including telecommunications and the Intranet.

Educational Qualifications

IT specialists come from a variety of backgrounds. Basic education requirements usually are graduation from an accredited university or community college program in computer science or mathematics. A few IT staff have university degrees in other disciplines, especially the sciences.

We regularly hire co-op students, which is a way for them to gain experience with the work we do.

Our IT specialists work closely with other staff in the department and should possess client relations, communications and project management skills.

Other Career Options

The Green Lane^TM,
Environment Canada's World Wide Web Site.