The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) is recruiting a MeerKAT Associate Operations Scientist on a contract basis for five years. The job offer is in cape town and will close on 1 October 2021.
About the Position
In this role, the successful candidate will support MeerKAT telescope operations, its users, and have the opportunity to carry out their own research. The successful candidate will receive on the job training.
Duties and responsibilities
Duties and responsibilities of the successful candidates include but are not limited to:
- Support telescope operations and MeerKAT users:
- Serve as Astronomer on Duty on a roster basis
- Support users in the preparation of proposals, observation schedule blocks, calibration strategies and data reduction
- Improve operations and scientific performance
- Maintain calibration of the telescope
- Provide quality assurance and quality control of the telescope data products
- Support the engineering team in commissioning of new observing modes
- Prepare technical reports
- Conduct/publish own research
SARAO encourages applications from recent PhD graduates. In addition, appointments are renewable 5-year contracts. The successful candidate will reside at the SARAO offices in Cape Town, South Africa, with an option to do substantial work from home. Furthermore, the candidate will have the opportunity to conduct their own research, subject to telescope delivery demands, with a maximum of 50% of time allocated to research.
Minimum education requirement
- PhD in astronomy, astrophysics or related field
Minimum work experience requirement
- Experience in reduction and analysis of radio astronomy data
- Knowledge of radio astronomy reduction software
- Ability to program in C/ Python/shell scripts
- Linux operating systems
- Technical report writing
- Experience in widefield imaging and spectropolarimetry would be advantageous.
To apply, please email your cover letter and CV to careers@ska.ac.za, with the subject line “MeerKAT associate operations scientist”. Please visit SARAO’s website for more information.
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