CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship in VLBI Technosignature Searches

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

Child Safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in radio astronomy or astrophysics?
• Conduct impactful research in non-terrestrially generated technosignatures.
• Join the CSIRO Space and Astronomy group for this exciting 3-year postdoctoral role!

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

The CERC Fellow will join CSIRO’s Space and Astronomy team to develop the use of an array of radio telescopes across Australia to search for “technosignatures” – radio emission from outside our solar system that provide evidence of extra-terrestrial technology. Traditional technosignature searches use single telescopes and these cannot easily separate terrestrially generated technosignatures from those coming from celestial sources

The CERC Fellow will work with international experts in the fields of Very Long Baseline Interferometry and SETI to make observations with Australian and international telescopes then develop the data processing algorithms to search the data sets for characteristic technosignatures.

Your duties will include:

• Using Australian and international radio telescopes to observe potential SETI targets, such as nearby stars.
• Developing new technosignature search algorithms suitable for VLBI data sets, and apply these to collected datasets.
  Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.  
• Carrying out research investigations requiring originality, creativity and innovation.
• Recording, managing, and analysing data/information using relevant domain data science techniques. 

To be considered you will need: 

Essential

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as radio astronomy or astrophysics.  Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Experience in radio interferometry data processing, including calibration and imaging.
• Experience in any programming language such as Python, C, C++ or equivalent.
• Ability to work within the Linux environment.
• High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences. 

Desirable

• Experience in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), including a knowledge of calibration, astrometry and standard VLBI data processing packages.
• Experience with operating radio astronomy telescopes and/or instrumentation.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary, potentially regionally dispersed research team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous research. 

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or you must either hold, or be able to obtain, a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term of the fellowship.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Candidates will be expected to commence employment by 30 June 2024.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role