Detector Scientist for Space Applications

Detector Scientist for Space Applications

Advert Reference Number: 1825

Job Location:

Milton Keynes, Remote/Hybrid

Department:
School of Physical Sciences

Salary: £38,784 to £56,535

Closing Date: 6 September 2026

Weekly

Working Hours:

37

Contract Type:
Fixed Term Contract

Fixed Term

Contract:

End Date: 30 September 2028

Welsh Language:
Not Applicable

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to You Tube by clicking this link).

This is an exciting opportunity to work primarily on a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) mission, launched in May 2026. The role will initially run until 30th September 2028; an extension beyond this date will be considered if external project funding allows nearer the time. The mission is planned with a nominal 3-years in-orbit, with an increasing requirement for detector optimisation and calibration as the mission progresses due to the damage that the detector will receive in the space radiation environment.

In addition, the role holder will have opportunities to support the wider detector research within the group, including developments in UV detectors towards the NASA Habitable Worlds Observatory, new X-ray CMOS detectors for future astronomy missions, alongside ongoing work on the EMCCDs used in the NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

The Centre for Electronic Imaging (CEI) is a research centre based within the School of Physical Sciences at the Open University. The CEI is a collaboration between the Open University and Teledyne e2v, a world-leading manufacturer of scientific and industrial image sensors. The CEI is dedicated to conducting research into advanced imaging technologies for science applications and conducts its research in collaboration with many universities, agencies and companies including the UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, NASA and Teledyne e2v.

One such mission is the joint European Space Agency (ESA) – Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Solar Magnetospheric Ionospheric Link Explorer (SMILE), due to launch in early 2026, which will study the interaction between the Earth’s magnetosphere-ionosphere system and the solar wind on a global scale. The CEI is part of the SMILE Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) consortium and has been responsible for the testing, modelling and verification of the performance of the CCD used in the SMILE SXI instrument.

As we move into the post-launch phase of operations, the CEI will continue to lead on detector performance monitoring, in-orbit optimisation and calibration requirements.

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic individual to join the CEI project team as a Detector Scientist for Space Applications. The role holder will be engaged in many aspects of the in-orbit operations in collaboration with the instrument leads at University of Leicester, including development, planning and execution of CCD calibration, managing device anomalies, monitoring performance, and optimisation of operations.

Alongside analysis of in-orbit data, the role holder will run and maintain the CEI’s CCD ground test system, replicating any device anomalies or performance modifications in the laboratory to better understand and improve flight performance.

The successful candidate will be trained by the team as necessary to enable them to work with the CEI SMILE project team on the maintenance and operation of the CCD camera test system, including the associated data acquisition and analysis software. Results from the analysis of in-orbit data and the ground-based CCD testing will be used to optimise their performance in the SMILE flight camera and provide experimental data to support in-orbit operations.

The role holder will also attend regular project meetings and conferences, deliver progress reports and interface with team members and external scientists and engineers from the University of Leicester,…