Astronomer/Project Scientist

ESO’s Project Science Department, within the Directorate for Science at its Headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany, is advertising the position of Astronomer/Project Scientist.

ESO is looking for an enthusiastic and outstanding scientist, with the prime objective to support and follow the new generation multi-object optical and near-infrared spectrograph for the Very Large Telescope: MOONS. MOONS is a remarkable spectrograph, which will be positioned at one of the Nasmyth foci of the VLT, based on a fiber-positioner with superb multiplexing capabilities, and delivering thousands of low / high spectral resolution spectra. From surveys of nearby stars to remote high-redshift galaxies, MOONS will be a powerful machine to probe the physics of astronomical targets, and to reveal their formation and evolution histories, serving a broad range of science topics and a large community of scientists throughout the world. MOONS is in the final stages of its construction and integration life, with a potential sky commissioning at Paranal in 2024. ESO expects the successful candidate to acquire and/or develop unique competences and skills which will be further applied and developed beyond the early operations of MOONS for future ESO instrumentation projects.

ESO encourages junior-career scientists to apply for this position.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides strong scientific leadership to the assigned instrument programmes within ESO;
• Acts as the principle scientific contact to the instrument building consortium;
• Liaises with ESO’s scientific community on issues related to the instruments under their responsibility;
• Develops, owns and maintains the scientific requirements for the assigned instruments;
• Works closely with the ESO Project Managers and System Engineers to ensure the implementation of the scientific requirements;
• Coordinates and connects with the relevant Programme Scientist(s) on the related instruments and projects;
• Supports the testing, commissioning and early operations. Specifically: preparation for the science operation during design, manufacturing/assembly/integration and testing and commissioning of the instrument in close cooperation with the observatory;
• Participates in progress meetings and instrument reviews;
• Tracks the evolving requirements for the assigned instruments emerging from the community;
• Interacts closely with the observatory and data management teams on operational aspects; and
• Coordinates the activities of the instrument Science Team.

As a member of the ESO Astronomy Faculty, the successful candidate will be expected and encouraged to conduct a strong personal research programme and to participate actively in the scientific life of ESO.

The tasks are not limited to the above and a flexible approach and willingness to adapt are required.

Qualifications

Essential educational level:

• PhD in Astronomy, Physics or equivalent

Qualifications which would be an asset:

• Expertise in multi-object spectroscopy; and
• Expertise in fiber-fed astronomical instrumentation.

Applicants are invited to apply online via the ESO Recruitment Portal.