Temporary Technical- VTS Staff TA

Vanderbilt University • United States,

2d

About The Position

Vanderbilt University's Physics & Astronomy department seeks a temporary Technical VTS Staff TA to run stellar population synthesis codes, analyze and visualize the resulting data, and contribute to research on long gamma-ray burst populations. The position collaborates closely with the faculty PI and Administrative Manager, attends weekly progress meetings, and helps prepare written reports and publications.

The role involves running simulations, analyzing their output, producing publication-quality visualizations, documenting code and data-processing procedures, and troubleshooting and optimizing code. It also supports research communications through meeting presentations and preparation of figures and tables for reports, manuscripts, and conference presentations. The role has no supervisory responsibilities. It reports administratively to the faculty PI and functionally to the Administrative Manager.

Requirements

• At least 1 year of experience with long gamma-ray burst population modeling.
• Proficiency in running stellar population synthesis codes.
• Strong scientific data analysis and statistical skills.
• Ability to produce clear, publication-quality plots and visualizations.
• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and meet weekly meeting commitments.
• Familiarity with programming languages such as Python, IDL, or MATLAB.
• Experience with version control systems such as Git.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Astronomy, Physics, Astrophysics, or a related field (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Run stellar population synthesis codes and related simulations.
• Analyze simulation output and perform scientific data analysis.
• Create plots and visualizations to illustrate results.
• Present findings during weekly research meetings.
• Write up results for internal reports and manuscript preparation.
• Maintain documentation of code usage, parameters, and data processing steps.
• Troubleshoot and optimize code performance as needed.
• Collaborate with the faculty PI and Administrative Manager on project goals.
• Ensure data integrity and proper version control of analysis scripts.
• Assist in preparing figures and tables for conference presentations.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: No Education Listed