Weak Gravitational Lensing in the JWST COSMOS-Webb Survey

The Postdoctoral Scholars Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) invites applications for a postdoctoral research position within the JPL ‘Dark Sector’ cosmology research group. Our group is active in a wide range of current and upcoming cosmology surveys, including: the Dark Energy Survey, the SuperBIT balloon project, the UNIONS Ultraviolet Near-Infrared Optical Northern Sky (UNIONS) Survey, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (formerly WFIRST), the Vera Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time,  ESA’s Euclid mission, and the upcoming COSMOS-Web.

The primary responsibility of the successful candidate will be developing a weak lensing measurement and analysis pipeline for the upcoming JWST COSMOS-Web survey (https://cosmos.astro.caltech.edu/news/76).  Additionally, the successful candidate will advance research and publish results in any area related to weak lensing cosmology (theoretical, computational, observational, algorithm development, or detector systematics testing and mitigation). The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on the aforementioned surveys in addition to COSMOS. The successful candidate will interact and work with the other Dark Sector scientists and contribute to one or more of the aforementioned ongoing or upcoming weak lensing surveys. Applicants are encouraged to show willingness and potential to look to the future of the field, and articulate their vision. Potential candidates are encouraged to reach out to Jason Rhodes as they develop their research plan.

JPL provides a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment for researchers with interests spanning a range of astrophysics, with particularly strong efforts in exoplanetary science and dark energy cosmology, and the associated technologies that enable this work. There are many opportunities for collaboration with researchers at the Caltech campus including at IPAC.

Candidate Qualifications:

Candidates should have a recent PhD in astronomy, astrophysics, physics, or related fields and a publication record that indicates active participation in the field of astronomy or astrophysics. Previous experience with the development and implementation of analysis pipelines for weak gravitational lensing is strongly desired; experience in the derivation of astrophysical and cosmological constraints from weak lensing is also desired.  Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and demonstrated experience at collaborative work in large groups are important evaluation criteria.

The annual starting salary will be commensurate with established JPL postdoctoral rates. The appointee will also receive health insurance and additional resources for research-related expenses and will have access to local facilities, including Palomar Observatory, the JPL Supercomputing Facility, and the JPL/Caltech Optical Observatory Precision Projector Laboratory (PPL) image sensor testing facility. Postdoctoral Scholar positions are awarded for a minimum of one year and with sufficient progress may be renewed up to a maximum of three years.

A complete application will consist of 1) a cover letter describing the particular interest in the opportunity, and the specific connections and potential collaborations that are envisioned, 2) a CV that includes contact information, a bibliography which clearly shows refereed publications, and contact information for three reference letter writers, and 3) a statement describing current and proposed research (including with COSMOS-Web) of no more than 3 pages.  For this last item, the applicant may choose to separate the current and proposed statements, or to have them written as one unit.  For full consideration, please submit these by December 15, 2022.  Applications should be submitted through this link https://citjpl.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/Jobs/job/Payroll-California/Weak-Gravitational-Lensing-in-the-JWST-COSMOS-Webb-Survey_R978.

Information about science at JPL can be found at https://science.jpl.nasa.gov. For more information, please contact either the JPL Postdoc Office at [email protected] or Dr. Jason Rhodes ([email protected]).

Caltech and JPL are equal opportunity/affirmative action employers. Women, minorities, veterans, and disabled persons are encouraged to apply.