Senior Research Scientist

Simpro Software•New York, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The CCA is a dynamic, collaborative, flexible research organization with a mission to advance computational methods, tools, and frameworks that allow scientists to interpret large astronomical datasets and to understand complex, multi-scale physics in astrophysical systems ranging in scales from planets to the Universe. Current research groups at the CCA include Astronomical Data, Stars & Plasma Astrophysics, Galaxy Formation, Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Cosmology, Machine Learning & Astrophysics, Exoplanets & Planet Formation, and Nearby Universe & Milky Way. There are also multiple cross-group collaborations and projects that cross and/or extend beyond these boundaries. Please see https://www.simonsfoundation.org/flatiron/center-for-computational-astrophysics/ for a full description of research activities at the CCA. CCA scientists are deeply involved in community-building within their research field, the CCA, the Flatiron Institute, and the larger NYC community. Within Flatiron, the CCA benefits from close ties with the Center for Computational Mathematics and superb computational resources and support from the Scientific Computing Core. CCA Senior Research Scientists are expected to: lead a vigorous, ambitious research program. collaborate with and mentor the CCA’s superb postdoctoral Flatiron Research Fellows. foster interactions with the broader community (in NYC and beyond) through organizing meetings and workshops. build intellectual connections across CCA and the Flatiron Institute and beyond. capitalize on the unique opportunities available at the CCA to further the field of computational astrophysics and data analysis, including open-source projects and data releases. These positions have generous individual research budgets, excellent staff and computing support, interactive colleagues (including many independent postdoctoral fellows), minimal bureaucracy, and the ability to pursue projects with arbitrarily short or long timescales. Applicants should be aware that employees cannot apply for or hold grants at the Simons Foundation, and that the Flatiron Institute does not offer tenure to its employees or grant degrees to students. CCA scientists do work with students through a variety of channels, however, including visiting predoctoral students, students in the CUNY Astronomy Master’s program, and/or undergraduate summer interns from CUNY and/or the Simons-NSBP Scholars program. Some CCA research scientists carry out more traditional academic activities through joint appointments with other universities. This a three year (term limited) position with a 25% FTE (10 hours per week) with the CCA based in New York City. CCA Mission Statement: Solve important, hard problems in computational astrophysics Focus on problems that we at Flatiron are uniquely positioned to solve Invent and propagate better data-analysis practices, analytical methods, and computational methods for the global astrophysics community, with a focus on rigor Develop, maintain, and contribute to open-source software packages, open data, and their communities Create and support a community of astrophysics doers, learners, and mentors in New York City and beyond Train and launch diverse early-career researchers in astrophysics with unique capabilities in computation methods.

Requirements

Ph.D. in a related field
A minimum of 3 years of post-PhD research experience in astrophysics
A record of excellence, productivity, and impact in publicly distributed research outputs (publications, software, data products, etc)
Effective oral and written communication skills
Ability to work independently as well as in a collaborative team environment
Demonstrated experience and interest in mentoring and supporting the career development of junior scientist

Nice To Haves

Research interests and/or skills that overlap or enhance a strategic scientific CCA goal/area, broadly defined
Sufficient breadth and flexibility to collaborate broadly within the CCA and especially with its independent postdoctoral fellows.
Evidence for significant scientific impact, assessed in appropriate ways for stage of career and methodology.
Demonstrated ability and interest in supervising, mentoring, and collaborating with junior scientists from a variety of backgrounds.
Experience with postdoctoral supervision is preferred.
Alignment with multiple aspects of the CCA mission statement.
Research interests and/or skill sets that are relevant to multiple CCA research areas.
A record of organizational and intellectual creativity and/or initiative that has potential to effectively leverage the flexibility that CCA offers.
Research goals that can have an impact within the scale of available CCA resources
A demonstrated focus on community products or organization (e.g. organizing community-oriented workshops, producing community data products, developing open-source software, etc)

Responsibilities

Lead a research program with broad and significant impact
Publish research in refereed scientific and technical journals
Develop computational astrophysics techniques
Provide publicly available software for use by the astrophysics community
Support the public use of available software
Assist in the organization of computational astrophysics workshops and conferences
Assist in the organization of weekly group seminars
Present papers at scientific conferences
Mentoring independent postdoctoral fellows
Perform any other duties or tasks as assigned or required