Research scientist: analysis software infrastructure for LSST

Submission Information
Publish Date: 
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Archive Date: 
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Job Summary
Job Category: 
Scientific/Technical Staff
Institution Classification/Type: 
Small Academic
Institution/Company: 
Carnegie Mellon University
Department Name: 
Physics Department
Street Line 1: 
5000 Forbes Ave.
City: 
Pittsburgh
State/Province: 
Pennsylvania
Zip/Postal: 
15213
Country: 
United States of America
Announcement
Job Announcement Text: 

Carnegie Mellon Department of Physics has outstanding opportunities for full-time research scientists associated with the LINCC Frameworks program (https://www.lsstcorporation.org/lincc/frameworks), involving the development, testing and deployment of scalable analysis pipelines to enable science with the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

The LSST, which will be carried out by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is the flagship ground-based astronomical survey of the 2020s.  With an estimated start date in 2024, LSST will generate the deepest-ever, multi-color, 10-year-long movie of the southern sky, detecting 30 billion stars and galaxies and amassing 100 PB of imaging and catalog data. This is part of a trend of ever-larger and more complex astronomical imaging surveys: science is at an inflection point where the volume of data and the software infrastructure we use to analyze it can fundamentally change our understanding of the universe. The scientific reach of the LSST will be extraordinary, addressing questions such as: how did the Solar System form; what governs the birth and death of stars; how does dark matter sculpt the shape of our Galaxy; what is the nature of the dark energy that drives the expansion of our Universe?

The goal of the LINCC Frameworks project is to build analysis frameworks that can store, search, analyze and annotate data of the volume and complexity of the LSST data.  Initial implementations of the frameworks will be tested through application to precursor survey datasets prior to the start of LSST. 

There are two positions with position requirements and applications available in interfolio:

  1. The project scientist (https://apply.interfolio.com/99134) will work with a team of software engineers to lead the development of one of three initial frameworks: time domain and light curve analyses, photometric redshifts and extragalactic science, and Solar System science.
  2. The research scientist (https://apply.interfolio.com/99131) will be working with software engineers and the project scientist on development of the frameworks, working with external researchers to design and implement their analyses, and training the astronomy community to utilize these tools and software. 

These positions are part of the multi-institutional LSST Corporation LINCC Frameworks program, https://www.lsstcorporation.org/lincc/frameworks.

Application Deadline: 
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Selection Deadline: 
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Current Status of Position: 
Accepting Applicants
Apply to Job
Attention To: 
Rachel Mandelbaum
Inquiries About Job
Attention To: 
Rachel Mandelbaum