At the University of Vienna, over 10,000 people work together on the big questions of the future. Approximately 7,500 of them are academic staff members. These are individuals who, with their curiosity and their continuous pursuit of excellence, engage in international cutting-edge research and teaching. With us, you will also find space to unfold your potential. We are looking for a/an
Senior Scientist
53 Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy
Job vacancy starting: 06/01/2024 | Working hours: 40,00 | Classification CBA: §48 VwGr. B1 lit. b (postdoc)
Limited contract until:
Job ID: 2344
Among the many reasons to research and teach at the University of Vienna there is one in particular, which has convinced around 7,500 academic staff members so far. They see themselves as personalities who need space for continuous striving for top international research and scientific excellence. At the same time they enjoy support and liberties that are not a given at other institutions. Does that sound like something for you?
Your working place:
The Department of Astrophysics with currently around 90 members is part of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy at the University of Vienna.
The A*-Vienna research group is looking for a highly motivated and talented postdoctoral researcher. The position is nominally set for 8 years, preferably by 1 Jun 2024.
In exceptional cases the faculty may still consider offering a permanent contract to the successful candidate. For example candidates with extensive prior knowledge of the software demands of the ELT projects. The University retains the right to be the sole decision-maker regarding offers of permanent contracts.
Your future tasks:
We seek an outstanding candidate to co-manage the development and commissioning of the data reduction software pipeline for the ELT first-generation instruments METIS, MICADO, and MOSAIC.
Your duties will include:
● Making design and implementation choices for the consortia which affect the final scientific performance of the instruments data reduction software,
● Implementing the software skeleton, functional code, and generating mock data for testing purposes
● Expanding and maintaining the instrument data simulator software
● Delegating and managing critical software development tasks within the team
● Managing and maintaining the consortium internal interfaces with regards to the software and meta-data
● Ensuring adequate quality control of the software
● Taking responsibility for ensuring that all software meets the top-level-requirements as stated by both ESO and the consorta
● Being responsible for timely delivery of the software to the consortia and to ESO
● Creating and maintaining multiple channels of communication within the consortia and with the ESO software group to ensure a smooth flow of information between all parties
You will actively participate in research, teaching & administration, which means:
● You are involved in and leading research projects in Astrophysics.
● You publish in internationally renowned journals and present at international meetings.
● You (co-)supervise Bachelor, Master and PhD students in Astronomy.
● You hold courses independently within the scope of the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
● You take on administrative tasks in research and teaching.
Your profile:
● Doctoral/PhD degree in astronomy/astrophysics with affinity for programming, or in computer science/applied mathematics with affinity for astronomy/astrophysics
● Excellent command of written and spoken English
● Excellent abilities to work in a team and excellent communication skills
● At least 5 years of experience working with infrared astronomical instrumentation
● Experience with leading the development of software for the ESO infrastructure
● Prior experience working with at least one ELT/VLT instrument consortium
● In-depth knowledge of the ESO pipeline infrastructure (e.g. EsoRex, CPL, HDRL, EDPS)
● Excellent programming skills in the accepted ESO languages (C, Python)
● An expert user of version-control systems and industry-standard software development tools (e.g. Github, Pytest, ReadTheDocs, etc)
These additional qualities are highly desirable:
● An eye for detail and the drive to maintain correct code development practices
● Project management skills
● Supervision and teaching experience
● Presentation experience in an international setting
What we offer:
Inspiring working atmosphere: You will have the opportunity to work within a dedicated team on forefront science, while profiting from the international environment in the Department of Astrophysics (https://astro.univie.ac.at/en/). We have privileged access to the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC; https://vsc.ac.at/) super-computing facility. As a member state of ESO (https://www.eso.org/) and ESA (https://www.esa.int/), Austria has access to their first-class observing facilities.
Good public transport connections: Your working place, the University Observatory, is located in the middle of the natural monument Observatory Park in the lively city of Vienna with outstanding public transport.
Work-life balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours, remote/hybrid and/or part-time work, upon agreement.
Internal further training & coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.
Fair salary: A basic gross salary of EUR 4,752.30 per month and 14 times a year.
Equal opportunities for everyone: We look forward to diverse personalities in the team!
Are you interested?
Please prepare your application as a single PDF file that includes a motivation letter, a curriculum vitae (with a list of publications and presentations), a statement of research interests (maximum of 3 pages), and contact details of 3 persons who can provide a letter of recommendation.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Kieran Leschinski
kieran.leschinski@univie.ac.at
We look forward to new personalities in our team!
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.
University of Vienna. Space for personalities. Since 1365.
Data protection
Application deadline: 05/09/2024
(Senior) Lecturer & Researcher
