NgVLA - Postdoctoral Fellow

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Title: ngVLA - Postdoctoral Fellow

Location: NRAO Headquarters, 520 Edgemont Rd, CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, United States of America 5651 Balloon Fiesta Pkwy, Albuquerque, NM 87113, USA

Requisition Number: 270

Job Family: Post-Doc Researcher

Pay Type: Salary

Required

Education:

SCI

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a prestigious research and development organization that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a nonprofit organization that manages and operates the NRAO under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The Observatory is a hub for technological and scientific collaboration, operating state-of-the‑art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community.

The Observatory has been instrumental in the study of black holes, galaxies, and the early universe. We are currently designing the Next-Generation VLA (ngVLA), a new facility which will offer an order‑of‑magnitude advance over the current VLA and VLBA with first light expected in the 2030s.

At NRAO we are seeking two Postdoctoral Fellows to join a rapidly growing team to support the ngVLA design and development effort. The primary function of all ngVLA Postdoctoral Fellow positions is to provide a rich opportunity for postdoctoral professional career advancement. The appointee will be expected to spend up to 50% of their time on functional work as part of the ngVLA Science Support Integrated Product Team (IPT), with the remaining fraction of their time available for independent research.

The ngVLA Science Support teams spans a broad range of areas each contributing to the ngVLA design effort that include:
Configuration Design and Analysis, Calibration Requirements and Strategies, Commissioning and Scientific Validation, Science Communications, and Operations Processes. The primary responsibilities for these research positions will focus on supporting Operations Processes Planning, however, successful candidates will be expected to support additional Science Support tasks based on the flexible combination of interest, expertise, and needs. As part of these efforts, active research is additionally being carried out to identify how AI tools and methods may be used to help improve Observatory operations;

NRAO is foundational partner of the NSF-Simons CosmicAI Institute.

The preferred duty station for this position is at the NRAO Headquarters located on the University of Virginia Grounds in Charlottesville, VA. Charlottesville is a charming mid‑sized city nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering a rare blend of natural beauty, rich history, and vibrant culture, consistently ranking among the most livable small cities in the US. Charlottesville offers an unusually high quality of life for its size, providing a blend of academic energy and outdoor recreation.

Other U.S. NRAO sites for the primary duty station will also be considered and occasional travel to other NRAO sites is expected.

• Supporting the development and prototyping of operations processes and workflows.
• Curating existing (and new) ngVLA use cases to be used as part of a broad range of operations simulations.
• Researching how new tools and methods can help improve Operations Processes.
• Contributing to calibration strategies under development for ngVLA.
• Supporting scientific meetings and science communications with the international astronomical community.
• Carrying out a program of independent astronomical research.

Work is mission driven, team oriented and typically performed in an office setting within a research or development environment.