Optical Astronomer​/Astronomy Tool Developer

BACKGROUND

Computational Physics, Inc. (CPI) is seeking a scientific software engineer/developer with a background in space systems, astronomy, or physics to support our customers at the United States Naval Observatory (USNO).

• PhD in astronomy or a related field of engineering or physics; or a master's degree and five years of experience.
• 7+ years of experience in developing software tools using Python, Java, C/C++ or other high-level programming languages used in scientific computing.
• 3+ years of experience working with optical systems and image processing.
• Experience with optical astrometry and photometry.
• Experience developing object-oriented software.
• Experience with Linux or Unix operating systems.
• Knowledge of distributed and concurrent programming models.
• Must be a U.S. citizen. (This is required by our contract from the Navy.)

• Experience converting optical astronomical data to orbits.
• Experience with orbital analysis including orbit propagation, orbit determination, reference frames, force models, etc.
• Experience using version control systems (e.g., git, Clear Case, etc.).
• Experience in software development projects using an Agile software development life cycle (e.g., Scrum, XP, Kanban, etc.).
• Experience using an Integrated Development Environment (e.g., Eclipse or VSCode).
• Experience using issue tracking systems (e.g., Jira, Trac, etc.) and collaboration tools (e.g., Wiki, Confluence).

The position is located at the USNO in Washington, D.C. This is a hybrid position with 1-2 days of remote work permitted at the discretion of USNO.

Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. CPI offers an excellent package of benefits, including retirement benefits and top-of-the-line health insurance.

Please send your resume as indicated. A cover letter is optional.

CPI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and an Employee-owned Company

Computational Physics, Inc., Springfield, Virginia