Resident Astronomer Position

The Instituto de Astronomía of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IA-UNAM) offers a resident astronomer position at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, México. This position is for a period of one year with the possibility of extending it annually, subject to adequate performance and institutional needs, up to a maximum of three years. The main selection criteria will be outstanding research accomplishments and observing experience.

Applicants should hold a Ph.D. degree in astronomy or a closely related field, and have at least two years of postdoctoral experience. Previous observing experience and knowledge of computer operating systems are required. Bilingual candidates (Spanish and English) and Mexican citizens are particularly encouraged to apply. There is, however, a long tradition of receiving English-speaking candidates who later learn Spanish at the many facilities available locally. Both, recent graduates, as well as more experienced observers will be considered. Good teamwork skills will be considered a valuable asset.

Resident astronomers spend one third of their time on observatory duties and the rest of the time on their personal research at the IA-UNAM’s academic branch in Ensenada, B.C. Observatory duties include support of observing runs: familiarizing visiting astronomers with the observing infrastructure, providing liaison between astronomers and the on-site technical staff, as well as testing, calibrating, and documenting instruments, observing modes, and the site. Resident astronomers are encouraged to suggest and undertake programs to improve the observing facilities. The short-listed candidates will be interviewed in order to make a final selection.

The current observing infrastructure at the National Astronomical Observatory in San Pedro Mártir consists of three telescopes (2.1m, 1.5m, 84cm) equipped with four optical spectrographs offering resolutions from 300 to 100,000, an optical scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer, near- and mid-infrared cameras and spectrographs (imaging 1-20 microns; spectroscopy 1-5 microns), a pair of filter wheels allowing broad- and narrow-band optical imaging, a pair of stellar photometers, and the RATIR multi-channel imager for robotic observations. Further information on the observatory site and observing facilities may be found at www.astrossp.unam.mx. México is a partner in the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in La Palma in the Canary Islands, in the High Altitude Water Cerenkov (HAWC) Observatory and in the TAOS-II project (with the Academia Sinica of Taiwan and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), consisting of three telescopes for the observation of transneptunian objects, currently under construction in San Pedro Mártir. The Institute is a founding partner of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey collaboration and which executes the SDSS-IV. The Institute has extensive computing facilities on site including a purpose-built high-performance computing center, and access to other UNAM supercomputers. Resident astronomers have access to these facilities.

Candidates should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vitae including a list of publications, a statement of previous experience and current and future professional interests, and a description of research and teaching plans. The candidate should arrange for at least three letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Dr. Mauricio Reyes-Ruiz ([email protected]) by September 16th, 2022.

All documents should be submitted by e-mail in PDF format.

Inquiries can be made by e-mail to [email protected].

Additional information can be found at:

www.astroscu.unam.mx

www.astrosen.unam.mx

www.astrossp.unam.mx