Software developper position for a Cosmology project (CONCERTO project)

CONCERTO is a spectrometer based on the state-of-the-art development of new arrays in the millimeter using Kinetic Inductance Detectors. Spectroscopy between 120 and 360 GHz is obtained by a fast Martin-Puplett interferometer. CONCERTO is under construction and will be deployed in January 2021 on the APEX telescope in the Atacama desert in Chile. One of the challenges is to built an efficient data reduction pipeline, that can handle the large data volume CONCERTO will produce (136 MiB/sec). Overall, the main survey and its calibration data will generate nearly 1 PiB of data. We are aided in our development by first data obtained with our pathfinder experiment, named KISS and installed at Tenerife.

We are in the process to build a data pipeline, closely linked to an instrument model, and are seeking a Software Developer/Data Analyst that will help us with this task. The work will consist in
1) developing the data pipeline that transforms our raw data into science ready data products.
2) investigating and developing algorithms to classify and structure our data, e.g. to automatically asses the quality of the scans. This may required the use of machine learning techniques.
3) improving and maintaining our data calibration tools.
4) assisting the scientific team with her/his knowledge of state-of-the-art software developing tools.
5) relating the data reduction pipeline to the instrument model (global inversion).

A university degree on master level in informatics, physics or similar is required. Experience in any area of computational astrophysics or physics is also required along with experience in modern techniques for software engineering, parallel processing, performance monitoring, de-bugging tools, and similar topics. Proficiency with Python is mandatory. In addition, experience working with high-performance computing environments, particularly massively parallel environments, would be an asset. It is expected the candidate will participate fully in the research environment at the LAM. Remuneration will depend on qualification and experience. The starting date is expected to be no later than autumn 2020; earlier dates may be possible. The LAM provides a stimulating work environment, in particular with its CeSAM data center.

Applications should consist of a cover letter, a brief statement of skills and interests, a curriculum vitae (including a publication list if applicable), and three letters of recommendation. The entire application (but the recommandation letters that can be sent separately) should be submitted electronically, as a single PDF file, to the email address [email protected]. Position is funded for 2 years by the European Research Council (ERC) CONCERTO Advanced Grant.