Flatiron Software Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

About the role

Applications are invited for postdoctoral positions as Flatiron Software Research Fellows (FSRFs) at the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA). The CCA offers FSRFs the opportunity for independent scientific software development and scientific research in areas that have strong synergy with the CCA or other centers at the Flatiron Institute. The FSRF is distinct from the standard Flatiron Research Fellow position in that innovative software development is expected to be a core focus and driver of any FSRF’s research program. The CCA will provide mentorship and career development support to each FSRF as well as guidance on trajectories within and outside academia. The mission of the Flatiron Institute is to advance scientific knowledge through computational methods, including data analysis, theory, modeling, and simulation. It currently houses five centers, focused on computational astrophysics (CCA), biology (CCB), mathematics (CCM), neuroscience (CCN) and quantum physics (CCQ), as well as a scientific computing core (SCC) that maintains state-of-the-art computing facilities for use by Flatiron scientists, and an initiative in computational catalysis (ICC). The CCA's particular mission is to create, develop, and disseminate computational methods, tools, and frameworks that allow scientists to build or analyze big astronomical datasets, and to use computational and statistical techniques to understand complex, multi-scale physics in astrophysical systems ranging in scales from planets to the Universe. Part of this mission is to develop, maintain, and contribute to open-source software packages and their communities. Examples of software project applications of CCA researchers include fluid dynamics and plasma simulations, radiative transfer, N-Body & dynamical simulations, GPU & other high-performance computing, machine learning models, probabilistic models for data, novel techniques for making measurements, visualization tools, and community-oriented foundational software tools. For examples of software developed or hosted at the CCA, please visit our website: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/flatiron/software/?type=39 Please also visit https://www.simonsfoundation.org/flatiron/center-for-computational-astrophysics/ for a full description of CCA research areas and scientific staff. We recommend candidates review our FAQ prior to submitting an application.

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

Requirements

Education: Applicants are required to have (or receive before appointment) a PhD in a related field.

• 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 types of 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; or theoretical astrophysics
• Effective oral and written communication and data documentation

Benefits

• Research budget
• Access to the Flatiron Institute’s powerful scientific computing resources, including 2 HPC clusters with a combined 180,000 cores, 600 GPUs and 60PB of raw storage
• Potential eligibility for subsidized housing