The Astrophysics Group at the University of Exeter invites applications for a post funded by the European Research Council project GAIA-BIFROST (H2020 project 101003096). We are building a short-wavelength, high-spectral resolution instrument for ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer, named BIFROST, and plan to carry out a large survey on young stars, binaries, and planet-host stars to advance our understanding of star and planet formation. The survey will also provide a legacy data set of dynamical masses and precision ages for stars across the HR diagram.
We search for a Postdoctoral Fellow with strong software engineering skills and ideally some instrumentation background. The fellow will take charge of the instrument software that controls the BIFROST data acquisition & observing sequences and communicates with related hardware/infrastructure. The role also includes adopting our data reduction pipeline and other software tools for data interpretation and modelling. Depending on interest and experience, the candidate might also act as lead scientist for the Exeter VLTI Expertise Centre. Candidates with a background in observational astronomy are encouraged to develop an independent research programme.
The researcher will join the instrumentation group at Exeter and benefit from rich opportunities to collaborate with local observation & theory experts and our international partners at Michigan, Leuven, Australian National University, Nice, and ESO. We regard diversity as an asset within our team, and welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and experience.
A Ph.D. in astrophysics, software engineering, or a related discipline is required. Experience with Python and C is essential and knowledge of GTK is desirable. The post includes funding for computing & travel, and we are members of the CHARA consortium. The initial appointment will be for 3 years, ideally with a start date in September 2022, but other start dates will be considered as well.
Applications need to be submitted by March 22nd, 2022, using the Exeter job portal (https://jobs.exeter.ac.uk, keyword P80609) and should consist of a single PDF file with cover letter, CV, publication list, and brief description of research interests.
