Senior SALT Astronomer at South African Astronomical Observatory

About the position

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), on behalf of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) Foundation (Pty) Ltd, is seeking qualified candidates for the position of SALT Astronomer.

Key responsibilities:

SALT Astronomers (SAs) are based in Cape Town and work within the SAAO science staff structure. The main responsibilities for this position will be:

• conducting service observing (about one week in six) on the queue-scheduled SALT.
• preparing and scheduling observations on behalf of the SALT users
• liaising with SALT users,
• performing and managing pipeline data reductions,
• writing and developing software to support SALT Astronomy Operations,
• depending on background, serving as an instrument scientist for a SALT instrument or instrument mode.
• Conduct their own research, for which personal research time and resources, using SALT and other SAAO facilities, will also be available on a competitive basis.
• Student supervision and/or lecturing are also strongly encouraged, as well as active participation in the scientific and functional life of the Observatory.

Minimum education requirements:

• PhD in Astronomy or related field.

Minimum Work Experience

• Minimum of five (5) years postdoctoral experience in optical or NIR astronomy.
• Experience with optical or NIR spectroscopy as part of astronomy career.
• Shell scripting and programming experience in Python.
• Established publication record and/or demonstrated experience in instrumentation development or related work.

Desirable additional education, work experience and personal qualities

• Strong preference will be given to candidates with proven experience in high-precision radial velocity (RV) studies, such as those applied in exoplanet science.
• Minimum of two (2) weeks in-person observing experience would be an advantage.
• Instrumentation and/or software development experience, such as data reduction pipelines or web-based software, would be an advantage.
• Proficiency in some of the following programming languages would be an advantage:
• MySQL
• LabVIEW
• Java
• Student supervision or lecturing experience.
• Ability to work on their own and as part of a team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Interest in PR and outreach, using social media or otherwise, is also an asset.

Applicants should send a cover letter, a brief statement of a research plan and a copy of their CV to the Head of SALT Astronomy Operations, Dr. Danièl Groenewald ([Email Address Removed]) and to the SAAO HR Manager, Linda Tobin ([Email Address Removed]), and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to both addresses.

For further information please contact Dr. Danièl Groenewald at the above address.

Desired Skills:

• Student Supervision
• Excellent Written and oral communication

Desired Qualification Level:

• Doctorate

About The Employer:

The National Research Foundation (NRF) is established by an Act of Parliament and mandated to contribute to national development by supporting, promoting and advancing research and human capacity development, through funding and the provision of the necessary research infrastructure, in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of science and technology, including humanities, social sciences and indigenous knowledge; and supporting and promoting public awareness of, and engagement with, science. The NRF is a well-established organisation that is highly networked within the knowledge system, nationally and internationally. It is the principal organisation responsible for promoting the national research enterprise and is the primary public funder of postgraduate students and researchers and provider of research infrastructure in the country. It has well-developed, best practice research evaluation and support systems.