Associate Lecturer – Radio Transients

About us

The Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) is a multi-disciplinary research institute engaged in a range of projects involving or motivated by radio astronomy. CIRA’s activities draw together academic research and professional staff from a variety of science, engineering, and computing disciplines to tackle unique and demanding challenges in radio astronomy. CIRA is the lead organisation and operator of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), and a key participant in the international SKA project.

Your new role

The successful candidate will work with project leader Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker and other MWA science experts at CIRA to perform image-domain searches on archival MWA data, and new Galactic plane monitoring data. Transient detection possibilities include long-period magnetars and pulsars, giant pulses from Repeating Radio Transients and pulsars, puzzling sources such as the Galactic Centre Radio Transients, and Fast Radio Bursts. The role involves processing the data, using dedicated time at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, running and improving existing pipelines to detect transients. The Lecturer will perform further analysis, and conduct follow-up multiwavelength observations to determine the underlying astrophysics of the sources, and publish the results in peer-reviewed journals.

The successful candidate will have a strong background in radio astronomy and/or astrophysics, with experience in transient and pulsar astrophysics being particularly advantageous. Experience with telescopes likely to be used for follow-up is also desirable: these include MeerKAT, the Australia Telescope Compact Array, Parkes/Murriyang, Swift, and Chandra.

The Researcher will also teach into undergraduate units at Curtin University, the subject of which will be appropriate to their skills and experience. Alternatively they may undertake work within the Translation and Impact team to bring additional benefit from the project to industry or other potential partners.

The Researcher will:

• Perform large MWA archive searches for transients;
• Maintain the MWA Galactic monitoring campaign;
• Perform multiwavelength follow-up;
• Determine the astrophysical nature of detected sources;
• Present results in high-quality journals and at relevant workshops and conferences;
• Co-supervise undergraduate and HDR students;
• Contribute scientific and/or computing expertise to the MWA Imaging Surveys Research Group programme;
• Contribute to undergraduate teaching or translation & impact programmes.

Essential Criteria:

• Doctoral qualification in a relevant discipline (e.g. radio astronomy, astrophysics, physics, or computer science).
• Familiarity with scripting in bash and python, and working in Linux environments
• Experience performing radio astronomical calibration and imaging
• Demonstrated understanding of radio astrophysics
• Experience using supercomputers to run automated pipelines
• Demonstrated track record of research outputs and communication of methods and results
• Potential for attracting external grants and funding
• Ability to or interest in supervising Higher Degree by Research students
• Commitment to principles of equity and diversity, and demonstrated ability to work in a team environment
• Interest in or experience in undergraduate teaching

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience working with transient radio sources and/or pulsars.
• Experience with low-frequency radio astronomy datasets.
• Experience with transient multiwavelength follow-up.

Work Requirements

Prior to appointment, the recommended applicant/s will need to have a current criminal record check in accordance with the University's National Police Certificate Assessment Procedures.

COVID 19 – Vaccination Policy

Candidates should note that Curtin University has implemented a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and Procedures which covers all staff, students, campuses and activities, effective 21 February 2022.

If you are invited to attend the next stage of assessments, you may be required to provide evidence of your COVID-19 vaccination status, including your booster if eligible (or formally granted exemption) upon arrival, and if you are offered a role at Curtin, you will be required to provide evidence of your COVID-19 vaccination or exemption status prior to commencing employment.

Next steps

To apply, please complete the online application form via the link below, noting we cannot accept resumes sent to the below email address.

Please provide a cover letter and resume that includes sufficient information and examples relating to the relevant selection criteria (outlined above) to allow us to assess your suitability for the role.

Applications close: 10pm AWST, Wednesday 7th September 2022

Contact details

If you have any queries in relation to the requirements of the role please contact Senior Lecturer, Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker at [email protected].

Alternatively, call the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research Phone: (+61) 08 9266 4669

If you have any queries in relation to the application process, please contact our careers team at [email protected].

To learn more about CIRA, please visit the below websites:

• www.astronomy.curtin.edu.au
• www.icrar.org
• www.mwatelescope.org
• www.skatelescope.org
• Inclusion and Diversity at Curtin

Why Choose Curtin?

Curtin University has a bold vision to be one of the leading institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Curtin is now entering an exciting phase as it focuses on further building its research capacity and improving its already strong reputation for innovation in learning and teaching.We are committed to ensuring that Curtin has an inclusive environment, free from harassment, in which all students, staff and the community feel respected, valued, and welcome.

We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, women, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and are committed to making reasonable adjustments to enable people with disability to participate fully in our recruitment, selection, and appointment processes.

We have received recognition in this area:

• Voted one of Australia’s Inclusive Employers for 2019-2020 (Diversity Council of Australia).
• Have become one of the first Universities to receive accreditation for an Elevated Reconciliation Action Plan.
• Achieved Athena Swan Bronze Accreditation (2018-2022).
• Voted 16th best workplace for new dads in Australia (HBF - Direct Advice for Dads, 2019).
• For further information on Curtin and all our employee benefits visit https://about.curtin.edu.au/jobs/

Disclaimer

Curtin reserves the right at its sole discretion to withdraw from the recruitment process, not to make an appointment, or to appoint by invitation, at any time. We reserve the right to remove the advert earlier than the date on the advert.