Pipeline Scientist

at  SETI Institute

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission seeks to discover thousands of exoplanets around nearby bright stars by measuring temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. The TESS mission is currently in its second extended mission after a very successful primary and first extended mission. The TESS Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) located at NASA Ames Research Center is responsible for processing science data returned from the TESS spacecraft into final, high-quality, data products that are made available to the public through the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. Amongst the data collected by TESS’s four cameras are Full Frame Images (FFIs) which capture the entire 24x96 degree field-of-view at a 200 second cadence and higher data rate “postage stamps” of select stars at 120 and 20 second cadence for detailed study. The SPOC currently runs the full photometry pipeline to create target pixel and light curve files for up to 160,000 FFI targets, ~10,000 120-second targets and 2000 20-second targets per 28-day sector. In addition, a planet search pipeline is run on the FFI and 120-second targets to identify potential transiting planets, known as threshold crossing events (TCEs).
The Pipeline Scientist will support science operations and post-run data analyses to ensure quality pipeline results. They will contribute to data release notes for each data set to document data quality and any spacecraft or instrument events affecting the data products. The individual will have the opportunity to develop the SPOC pipeline algorithms, contribute to science software and/or data analysis, and provide science oversight during software review and testing. In addition, the successful candidate will support SPOC day-to-day pipeline operations, including pipeline setup and configuration, execution and monitoring, data ingest and export, as well as supporting efforts to streamline and automate pipeline operations. Participation in SPOC science publications and the development of community tools will be encouraged. The Pipeline Scientist will be encouraged to devote 20% of their time to independent astronomical research.
The SETI Institute is involved in a large variety of science projects involving processing large data sets, data analytics and machine learning. Although this position is initially specifically to work on the TESS mission, the position may evolve to work on completely different science processing and analysis projects. The ideal candidate will have experience and the willingness to multitask on multiple disparate science projects simultaneously. This position is intended to continue contingent upon available funding.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Master’s or Ph.D. degree in computer science, aerospace engineering, physics, astronomy, astrophysics or a related field.

• Knowledge of the basics of astronomy, CCD imaging, and photometric analysis.
• 2-3 years’ experience in the field of photometric analysis and exoplanets.
• 2-3 years’ programming experience with Matlab, Python and/or Java.
• 1-2 years’ experience with Linux.
• Ability to independently execute operations procedures and to independently investigate and mitigate errors and issues and to adapt and respond flexibly to constantly evolving operations schedules.
• Ability to follow a science mission operations schedule and deliver results on-time and in good order.
• Ability to abide by security procedures associated with working at a U.S. federally operated research facility.
• Strong and detail-oriented communication skills (virtual, in-person, and written) that can support systems engineering for production flight operations.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with transit photometry data processing and analysis.
• Experience with time series signal processing.
• Experience with machine learning and data-driven analysis and modelling.
• Experience with ground data processing pipeline operations for science missions.
• Experience with Git and SVN version control, including repository creation and maintenance.
• Experience with issue tracking, project management, and documentation software such as Jira and Confluence.
• Experience with command line shell scripting in Linux.
• Experience with high performance supercomputing and distributed compute clusters.
• A strong desire to participate in forefront scientific research, discover new potentially habitable exoplanets and investigate the prevalence of life in the universe.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.
• Frequently standing, walking, sitting, reaching and carrying.
• Occasionally pulling, pushing and kneeling.
• Occasionally lifting up to 25 pounds.

Diversity and Equity

• All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
• The SETI Institute is an Affirmative Action Employer and members of underrepresented communities and demographics are particularly encouraged to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ and people with disabilities.
• EO/AA/Disability/Veteran Employer

Note: The Institute will not sponsor applicants for work visas

• Develop, modify, and run Data Analysis Working Group scripts after each pipeline run to assess the quality and validity of the resulting data products.
• Review the pipeline performance reports to identify issues requiring modifying parameters and re-running the pipeline.
• Document the pipeline performance results in monthly data release notes published at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.
• Provide science guidance and oversight for new or modified science pipeline algorithms during software release verification and validation activities.
• Operate the SPOC science processing pipeline on NASA supercomputers, including starting batch jobs, monitoring them, and restarting jobs when necessary, such that TESS data processing requirements and schedule are met.
• Identify and troubleshoot errors in the pipeline processing and work with the appropriate software engineer or data scientist for further investigation and mitigation.
• Participate in weekly meetings with the local SPOC operations and science teams, and also with the broader, remote TESS science and engineering teams.
• Report progress at meetings, address questions and adapt to concerns by the greater team.
• Remote work will be considered but would require periodic travel to in-person team meetings.