Postdoctoral position / Software Development

Submission Information
Publish Date: 
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Archive Date: 
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Job Summary
Job Category: 
Post-doctoral Positions and Fellowships
Institution Classification/Type: 
Large Academic
Institution/Company: 
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP)
Street Line 1: 
An der Sternwarte 16
City: 
Potsdam
State/Province: 
Brandenburg
Zip/Postal: 
14482
Country: 
Germany
Announcement
Job Announcement Text: 

We invite applications for a position in the Dwarf Galaxies and the Galactic Halo research group.

The candidate will work within the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and with Prof. Maria-Rosa Cioni on the software development and validation of Gaia data in crowded regions, e.g. in the Magellanic Clouds, Galactic star clusters, and the Bulge.

The goal of the project is to study and improve the Gaia performance in high density regions by processing, e.g., Service Interface Function (SIF) images, which allow to characterise objects two magnitude fainter that the natural detection limit. A small team is currently being assembled, within DPAC, to develop a crowded field pipeline to homogeneously treat the data and produce Gaia modules to be integrated in to the standard Gaia pipeline.

The candidate will be based at the AIP, an official DPAC institute already involved in software development for the Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer (CU6). The AIP is located in the beautiful Potsdam/Babelsberg area, at the southwest border of the Berlin metropolitan area. About 130 scientists work on a variety of astrophysical topics from solar physics to cosmology. The AIP is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and specifically encourages applications from women. 

Applicants should have a PhD in astronomy or a closely related field. Previous experience with software development, preferably in Java, database queries (SQL), bug tracking (JIRA), and dependency management (IVY) will be an asset to the job.

The initial appointment will be for one year starting as soon as possible with a possible extension of two additional years subject to funding availability. To apply please send a CV, a list of publications, a two-page statement on research/software experience, one-page on future plans, and three letters of reference. The position remains open until filled.

Included Benefits: 

The salary is based on the German public service TV-L scale. Employer contributions to medical and dental insurance, maternity leave, and retirement benefits are included.

Application Deadline: 
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Selection Deadline: 
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Current Status of Position: 
Accepting Applicants
Apply to Job
Attention To: 
Maria-Rosa Cioni
Title: 
Professor
Institution/Company: 
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP)
Street Line 1: 
An der Sternwarte 16
City: 
Potsdam
State/Province: 
Brandenburg
Zip/Postal Code: 
14482
Country: 
Germany
Phone: 
+49 331 7499 651
Inquiries About Job
Attention To: 
Maria-Rosa Cioni