GFZ is Germany’s national centre for solid Earth research. We advance the understanding of dynamic processes to address global challenges, from mitigating the impacts of natural hazards and sustaining our habitat amid global change to responsibly managing georesources. We are part of the Helmholtz Association, the largest German scientific organisation. With around 1,200 employees as well as ca. 500 guest researchers, we contribute to the Helmholtz Research Field Earth and Environment, aligning cutting-edge research with societal relevance and international collaboration. Our work integrates multidisciplinary studies across Earth’s system components, leveraging advanced technologies and infrastructure to research solutions and to transfer our knowledge to society. We are doing this according to our vision: “Taking the pulse of our Earth to safeguard a habitable planet”.
For section 1.2 Global Geomonitoring and Gravity Field, we are looking for a:
Student Assistant (fmx) in Global Geomonitoring and Gravity Field

REFERENCE NUMBER 10179

GFZ is operating a Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station in Potsdam as part of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). The SLR observation technique is one of the most precise space geodetic techniques with continuously improving accuracy and is used for monitoring of Earth rotation parameters, 3-dimensional deformations of the solid Earth, or static and time-varying coefficients of the Earth’s gravity field.
To help increase the productivity, the SLR team is looking for observers. When observations are not possible due to system downtime, weather conditions, etc. the potential candidate shall assist in different tasks to improve the operations of the station (e.g. writing scripts, doing inventories, etc.).

YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with software systems. The candidate shall use different operating systems comfortably (Linux and Windows).
• High degree of commitment and flexibility. The candidate shall accommodate the working time according to weather, system availability or special campaigns/ needs of the station. To help in the organization, the information shall be provided as soon as possible to provide enough margin for an optimal scheduling.
• The candidate should have a background with active observation systems. In particular geodetic ones such as Satellite Laser Ranging, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, etc.
• Knowledge about reference systems and orbital dynamics will be considered positively.
• Enrolment at a German University.
  Start date: As soon as possible
  Fixed-term: Initially 2 Months, after qualification the contract will be extended (this requires a valid enrollment certificate in full-time study)
  Salary: Die monatliche Vergütung erfolgt nach den Richtlinien der TDL (Ost). Zurzeit beträgt der Stundenlohn 13,25 € brutto (ohne Bachelorabschluss) und 13,83 € brutto (mit Bachelorabschluss/FH-Abschluss).
  Working hours: 10 h/Woche (ca. 40 h/Monat)
  Place of work: Potsdam

• Regular observations using a GUI in a Linux system for tracking targets from the International Satellite Laser Ranging Service
• Quality check of the observed passes with a subsequent data transfer to the data post-processing system
• Reporting, in the Logbook of the station, the status of the overall system including the different subsystems such as the Allsky camera, laser unit, event timer and others
• Process the acquired observations using the software available at the station
• Attend regular team meetings and provide input according to the experience with the systems: observation and post-processing wise
• Potentially help developing scripts for analysing the quality and status of the system. In case the system is not observing due to weather or technical issues.