Development of software tools and analysis of data from the Gaia satellite

The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) is seeking a researcher to develop software for analysing data from ESA's Gaia Galactic survey mission. One of the main goals of Gaia is to map the distribution of stars in our Galaxy in order to understand its origin and evolution. The successful candidate will develop powerful, flexible tools to infer phase space coordinates (positions, velocities) for ensembles of stars using the Gaia astrometry, photometry, and spectroscopy as well as data from other surveys. This will address a range of use cases, producing value-added data products as part of the scientific exploitation and interpretation of the data.

Candidates should have significant experience in python programming and software package development, have worked with astronomical data (ideally Gaia data), and have some background in Bayesian inference. Either a PhD in astronomy, or a Masters in astronomy together with some years experience working in astronomy, are essential.

In addition to software development, the successful candidate will use the tools to analyse Gaia data, write technical and scientific papers, and will present results at international conferences. The successful candidate will work closely with fellow astronomers and data scientists in the Gaia Consortium.

The MPIA is a large research institute employing nearly 300 people, including 40 scientific staff and 100 postdocs and PhD students. We have access to ground-based and space-based observatories as well as extensive supercomputing facilities and have close connections to Heidelberg University.

The Max-Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. The Max Planck Society also seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are under-represented and therefore explicitly encourages women, and all other historically under-represented groups, to apply. The MPIA supports its employees in the search for suitable child care. For questions concerning promoting equal opportunity for all employees and prospective employees at MPIA, please contact our equal opportunity officers ([email protected]). Regarding disability guidelines and regulations, please contact Ralf Launhardt ([email protected]).