Astrophysics Center Program Scientist [Radio Astronomy]

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific and technical expertise in radio astronomy across the Center's observatory portfolio.
• Work closely with partner institutions throughout the design, construction, commissioning, and scientific operation of major radio astronomy facilities.
• Evaluate scientific capabilities, technical readiness, project milestones, and commissioning activities to help ensure facilities achieve their scientific objectives.
• Review survey strategy, operational planning, calibration approaches, data products, and software plans, providing independent scientific assessment where appropriate.
• Cook up scientific and technical reviews within the Center, synthesizing input from internal staff and external experts.
• Provide scientific oversight for the Center's gifts and grants in radio astronomy, monitoring progress and identifying opportunities to maximize scientific impact.
• Represent the Center in technical reviews, scientific meetings, workshops, and interactions with the broader radio astronomy community.
• Build collaborative relationships with partner institutions, scientific teams, and the broader radio astronomy community.
• Advise Center leadership on scientific priorities, emerging opportunities, and strategic decisions in radio astronomy, including contributing to the exploration of future radio astronomy facilities and concepts.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Astronomy, Astrophysics, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in academia, industry, government, or private research laboratories following the Ph.D.
• Demonstrated scientific leadership within a major radio astronomy collaboration, observatory, or survey.
• Extensive experience with radio interferometry, including the development, commissioning, operation, or scientific exploitation of large radio arrays.
• Broad understanding of radio astronomy instrumentation, calibration, imaging, data processing, and scientific operations.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across scientific, engineering, and multidisciplinary teams in large, multi-institutional collaborations.
• Excellent scientific judgment, communication skills, and the ability to build productive relationships with partner institutions and the broader research community.

Desired Additional Skills

• Experience with the commissioning or early scientific operation of facility-class radio observatories.
• Experience participating in scientific advisory committees, technical review panels, or governance activities for major astronomical facilities.
• Experience working with external collaborators, partner institutions, or multi-institutional scientific teams.
• Expertise in one or more areas enabled by modern radio astronomy, such as transient astronomy, pulsars, cosmology, exoplanets, or multi-messenger astrophysics.
• Familiarity with large-scale radio astronomy software, calibration pipelines, or survey data products.
• Broad scientific interests spanning multiple areas of radio astronomy and an interest in future observatory concepts.

Pay

$200,000 - $250,000 a year

Schedule

Exempt position