Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Flight Systems and Mission Support

College of Science

Post Doc 12 month

Postdoctoral Faculty

Full-Time

Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Fairfax, VA

Hybrid Eligible

Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary commensurate with education and experience

Yes

Yes

Yes

George Mason University, a Carnegie Research I institution, is Virginia’s largest and most diverse university with more than 38,000 students. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, Mason is part of the Washington DC metropolitan area offering easy access to the scientific and political resources of the nation’s capital.

The Landolt Mission team is responsible for developing and executing a NASA space-based mission through coordinated work across science, payload, spacecraft bus, software, systems engineering, integration and test, mission assurance, and project management functions. The unit provides an interdisciplinary research and training environment for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, engineers, staff, and students working collaboratively with federal, academic, commercial, and other external partners.

George Mason University College of Science (Mason Science) is committed to advancing inclusive excellence and fostering an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation throughout our STEM community. At Mason Science, our values include cultivating an organizational culture that promotes belonging, respect, and civility. We believe that varied opinions, cultures, and perspectives are what provides vibrancy, innovation, and growth to an academic community.

By prioritizing cultural responsiveness in academics, teaching, research, and global engagement, we strive to attract faculty and staff who exemplify the Mason Science mission and vision.

The Mason Space Center is an academic center at George Mason University established to provide administrative, facilities, academic, and outreach infrastructure supporting space mission activities at GMU.

This position is sponsored by the NASA Landolt mission and Mason Space Center (MSC). The Landolt project will develop and operate as a small satellite with calibrated light sources onboard to simulate a star and use ground telescopes to transfer absolute brightness calibration to selected real stars. Radiometric calibration of apparent stellar brightness is a fundamental astrophysical challenge.

This grant-funded postdoctoral position is intended to support the Landolt mission through scientific, technical, and programmatic contributions. Under general supervision, the postdoctoral fellow will work closely with mission leadership, scientists, engineers, faculty, staff, and students to support mission execution, project management, documentation, technical coordination, and scholarly dissemination.

The position will provide opportunities to contribute to mission planning, project management, technical analysis, review preparation, reporting, and collaboration across government, academic, and commercial stakeholders while developing an independent research profile aligned with the Landolt mission and related space science activities.

• Support mission development and execution through technical analysis, project management, coordination, and documentation;
• Contribute to schedule, budget, and project-plan support activities as assigned, including tracking progress against mission objectives, timelines, and resources;
• Assist with the preparation of key mission documents, progress reports, technical memos, and review materials, including materials associated with NASA requirements and mission milestones;
• Support mission reviews and technical meetings, including Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review, and Flight Readiness;
• Review and related project review activities, as appropriate;
• Work closely with mission leadership to evaluate technical progress, assess risks, and support planning efforts related to testing, execution, and mission readiness;
• Support, guide, and lead mission flight operations tasks at planning, execution, and post-hoc review stages;
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders, including government, academic, and commercial partners, as needed to advance mission objectives; and
• Travel occasionally for meetings with NASA and other stakeholders, estimated at…