Project Manager of the LSST Data Management

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project Office seeks applicants with demonstrated experience in leadership of large data- and software- centric scientific projects, for the position of Project Manager of the LSST Data Management (DM) subsystem.
The LSST DM Project Manager is responsible for the overall leadership and success of LSST Data Management (DM) system construction. This includes the stewardship of LSST DM’s technical and scientific vision, as well as responsibility for the overall execution, quality, and timeliness of all DM construction activities. The successful applicant will be a member of the senior management team.
LSST is a large aperture, wide-field, ground-based facility designed to survey the entire southern sky down to faint magnitudes in six optical colors every few nights. As such it will enable a broad array of diverse scientific investigations ranging from studies of moving objects in the solar system to constraining the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole.  The project includes an 8-meter class wide field telescope, a 3.2 gigapixel camera with 2-second readout, and a state-of-the- art petascale data management system to process, archive, and distribute the 15 TB of data produced every night. LSST's Data Management system must process images for alerts within 60 seconds of exposure, serve calibrated data on demand and must process the ever-increasing data set into annual catalogs of unprecedented size and quality. The DM system must also accommodate user provided code at the data center for local processing and potential federation into the LSST system.

Formal construction of this world-leading survey facility began in August of 2014 as a joint project of the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, resulting in the anticipated onset of operations in late 2022. Once completed, the LSST will be the largest and most modern optical survey project ever built and it will pursue a 10-year survey to catalog billions of objects. The LSST Data Management system is being constructed by a team of over 80 members residing at partner institutions across the United States, Europe, and Chile. It will include a data processing system spanning three continents, new state-of-the-art image processing algorithms, petascale computing clusters with tens of thousands of cores, large distributed databases, and next-generation analysis toolkits, among others.

The DM Project Manager will be responsible for directing the vision, development, and deployment of the Data Management system. He/she holds the responsibility and authority to direct DM construction to a successful technical completion within the allocated budget and schedule. This includes the development of the current LSST DM codebase from R&D-level maturity, to the final state of production-quality survey operations, in 5 years. The preferred candidate for this position will have practical experience directing the development and execution of large distributed projects, managing development of complex scientific software systems, and preferably experience with long-duration, government-funded, development projects (5 years to complete and 10 years of operation). The preferred candidate should also have experience with leading highly distributed high performing teams, and the understanding of technical trades needed to achieve scientific objectives while adhering to set budget and schedule. Experience with analysis of large astronomical data sets is desirable.

The LSST DM Project Manager is a key position within the LSST Management Team working directly with the LSST Director, Deputy Director, Project Manager, Project Scientist and the leadership of the other subsystems. The preferred location for this position is Tucson, Arizona, but is negotiable in consideration of the 5 primary DM participating institutions.

Applications received by June 30, 2016 will be reviewed with first priority, but the job will remain open until filled.

When applying online, please be prepared to list 3 professional references in your application; attach a statement of professional interests or cover letter and attach a CV or resume (PDF Files preferred) to your application.

As an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, AURA does not discriminate because of race, sex, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, lawful political affiliations, veteran status, disability, and/or any other legally protected status under applicable federal, state, and local equal opportunity laws. Preference granted to qualified Native Americans living on or near the Tohono O'odham reservation.