Kepler Support Scientist (Kepler Operations Center) - NASA Ames Research Center

The Kepler Operations Center at NASA-Ames is seeking a team-oriented research scientist to assist with the interpretation, exploitation and processing of the Kepler data through a joint appointment in the Kepler Science Office and Guest Observer Office. This work involves scientific interaction and collaboration with the Kepler Science Team, Guest Observers, the Asteroseismology Consortium, and public archive users. The successful applicant will make significant and effective contributions to the scientific output of the Kepler mission. Duties will include algorithm development to improve the quality and efficacy of the data for detecting small planets and conducting other astrophysical investigations; interaction with the data to assess, analyze, and interpret the scientific results; and processing, documentation, and distribution of the data to the community. The successful applicant will also develop and implement innovative ideas for engaging the broader scientific community and the public in the exploitation of the Kepler data.

Kepler is NASA's Discovery mission to find Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars. The spacecraft is currently in an Earth-trailing orbit and collecting its second year of science data. It provides high-precision light curves for up to 170,000 simultaneous Galactic and extra-Galactic sources over a 100 square degree field in the Cygnus-Lyra direction with nearly uninterrupted cadences of 1- and 30-minutes over a nominal mission lifetime of 3.5 years. With its unique combination of high photometric sensitivity, high duty cycle, and long lifetime, Kepler provides a paradigm-changing opportunity to find Earth analogs and measure their frequency distribution, as well as to precipitate major advances in asteroseismology, stellar evolution, stellar activity, and accretion theory. See http://keplergo.arc.nasa.gov for further information on Kepler and the Guest Observer Office. Information also is available at http://kepler.arc.nasa.gov and at http://www.nasa.gov/kepler.

The successful applicant will join a strong team working to support and enable science by the Kepler Science Team, the international Kepler Guest Observer community, and the public. The specific role of Kepler Support Scientists is to develop deep expertise in several aspects of the mission - instrument performance and characterization, science pipeline development, or data analysis and archiving - and contribute to the exciting endeavor of discovering habitable exoplanets and maximizing the broader scientific return of the mission by involving and enabling the community. Support scientists are expected to spend 20% of their time leading scientific investigations of their own choosing and to regularly publish their results in refereed journals.

• Experience exploiting space-based and/or photometric instrumentation,
• Expertise developing and optimizing data reduction and analysis algorithms,
• Ability to creatively solve a wide variety of complex problems,
• Well-developed team, diplomacy, and communication skills,
• Computer literacy at a level that allows MATLAB script development,
• Strong scientific background in extra-solar planetary research or a related field of astrophysics,
• Recognition within the scientific community as a skilled and accessible mission expert,
• Demonstrated interest in promoting scientific collaborations within the community, and
• Desire to work in a fast-paced environment with high expectations and hard deadlines.

• A Ph.D. or equivalent career experience in astrophysics, physics, engineering, computer science, or a related field is required.

To Apply:   Applicants should provide a cover letter, a resume or CV, and a list of references to Dr. Martin D. Still either electronically or by mail to Dr Martin Still per the contact information below. In your cover letter describe which of the above attributes are revealed by your experiences and interests, and indicate your preferred starting date.

martin.d.still@nasa.gov or fax to (650) 605-2338.

The deadline for applications is November 1, 2010, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The Kepler Science Office and Guest Observer Office are embedded within the Kepler Operations Center at NASA-Ames Research Center, situated in the San Francisco Bay Area. This position will be funded through a cooperative agreement between NASA and the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute

Equal Opportunity Employer