Instrument Developer/Specialist at the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku

The Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA) is seeking an Instrument Developer/Specialist (Research Technician) with engineering expertise for a fixed-term position. The position starts immediately or preferably no later than 1 May 2026 and lasts until 31 December 2027. 

The University of Turku (UTU) is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education. The Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA) is a national research institute in Finland, with its headquarters within the UTU campus. Turku is an affordable, pleasant city to live in, located in southwest Finland where the weather is temperate and transport connections are good via Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. FINCA takes care of Finnish co-operation with the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and practises and co-ordinates multi-wavelength astronomical research with all Finnish universities in the field, and participates in researcher training. FINCA plays an active role in the support of the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) on the Canary Islands, for which all Finland-based astronomers have direct access to.

UTU through FINCA and the Department of Physics and Astronomy is also a consortium member in several instrumentation projects, most notably the wide-band spectrographs the Son of X-Shooter (SOXS) at the ESO NTT and the NOT Transient Explorer (NTE) at the NOT, with guaranteed future observing time. UTU is a co-owner of the NOT, a member of the Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) and two ESO Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) instrument consortia MICADO and MOSAIC.

We are seeking an Instrument Developer/Specialist (Research Technician) to work on our astronomical instrumentation projects. The person will work mainly on the development of a new detector and instrument for the NOT based on black-silicon CCD technology, in collaboration with the Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering at Aalto University, under project “Nanostructured silicon CCDs for astronomical imaging” funded by the Research Council of Finland. This innovative instrument will exemplify the first application of black silicon CCD in ground-based astronomy, and holds ample potential for future instruments and space missions. Black silicon technology is expected to be one of the major future improvements in astronomical detectors, enhancing the sensitivity and spectral range from UV to near-IR.

The candidate is expected to develop the optomechanical and electronics design of the new NOT instrument detector dewar based on the current NOT instrumentation, in close coordination and with support from the NOT staff, oversee the manufacture and construction of the instrument in coordination with the UTU mechanical workshop, and perform the assembly, integration, and verification (AIV) together with the team. The final phase of the work will be the deployment of the instrument at the NOT for test observations. Additionally, minor contributions in other instrumentation projects such as NTE, MICADO, and MOSAIC are expected.

A successful applicant needs to be proficient in advanced detector technology and the associated electronics, have the ability to conduct optical and mechanical designs relevant for astronomical instrumentation using typical softwares, perform hardware assembly and integration fully taking into account the electrical/electronic and cryogenic aspects of the instrument, possess good collaboration skills, and be fluent in the English language. As the project requires visits to the NOT site (2400 m altitude), good physical health and endurance to high altitude is required. Prior experience in astronomical instrumentation projects is a significant advantage.

The position will be based in Turku, Finland, with travel plans to NOT at the Canary Islands. The candidate must hold a master’s degree in engineering or relevant fields. There is a possibility for an extension; while contingent on the availability of funds, this is not unlikely given the future plan to upgrade NOT detectors.