Flatiron Software Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

About the role

The Flatiron Software Research Fellow (FSRF) position at the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) invites applicants to pursue independent scientific software development and research that aligns with the CCA’s mission or other Flatiron Institute centers. Unlike the standard Flatiron Research Fellow, the FSRF role centers innovative software development as a core driver of the research program. Fellows receive mentorship and career‑development support, with guidance on trajectories inside and outside academia. The Flatiron Institute advances scientific knowledge through computational methods—including data analysis, theory, modeling, and simulation—and houses five research centers (CCA, CCB, CCM, CCN, CCQ), a Scientific Computing Core (SCC), and an Initiative in Computational Catalysis (ICC). The CCA specifically creates, develops, and disseminates computational methods, tools, and frameworks for building or analyzing large astronomical datasets and for applying computational and statistical techniques to understand multi‑scale astrophysical physics from planetary to cosmological scales. This includes maintaining and contributing to open‑source software projects and their communities, such as fluid dynamics and plasma simulations, radiative transfer, N‑body and dynamical simulations, GPU‑accelerated and other high‑performance computing, machine‑learning models, probabilistic models for data, novel measurement techniques, visualization tools, and foundational community‑oriented software. FSRFs are expected to develop or substantially contribute to innovative astronomical software that enables new or foundational science programs, can be pursued independently, and involves substantial collaboration with CCA and Flatiron colleagues. They are encouraged to build technical skills through engagement with software engineers, other FSRFs, and the SCC, including participation in or co‑organization of software workshops and training. Beyond their own software work, Fellows help foster the scientific community by participating in seminars, colloquia, and group meetings; deepening their software, mathematical, and computational expertise via internal educational opportunities; sharing knowledge through software releases, contributions, publications, and presentations; and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students through various CCA‑affiliated programs. FSRFs may also leverage CCA partnerships with the Simons Observatory, the Terra Hunting Experiment, Sloan Digital Sky Survey V, LIGO, Gaia, and the NASA SPHEREx mission. Appointments are generally two‑year terms, renewable for up to three additional years contingent on performance, with anticipated start dates between late August and early October 2027. Positions are based in the New York City offices.

Responsibilities

• Developing, implementing, maintaining, and supporting scientific software relevant to astrophysics
• Engaging in astrophysical research using computational and/or theoretical tools
• Assisting in the organization of CCA and Flatiron‑wide collaborative activities, including seminars, workshops, and meetings
• Actively participating in the preparation of manuscripts for publication and presentations at conferences
• Assisting in student mentorship
• Sharing expertise and providing training and guidance to CCA staff and visitors as needed, including participation in the Software Group and periodically running software tutorials

Qualifications

• PhD in a related field (or expected to receive the PhD before the appointment start date)

Skills

• Ability to develop and/or contribute to open‑source software projects
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Ability to do original research in astrophysics
• Ability to present research and other work, internally and externally
• Intellectual connections to projects in which the CCA is involved (if relevant)
• Expertise in technical elements of computational astrophysics research, which may include but are not limited to:
  • Algorithm and software development
  • Application or development of computational or statistical methods
  • Data analysis
  • Modeling
  • Statistics and machine learning
  • Scientific simulation
  • Theoretical astrophysics
• Effective oral and written communication and data documentation

Pay

The full‑time annual compensation for this position is $95,000.