Lead Active Optics Scientist for Advanced Telescope

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy; La Serena; On-site; CLP 88,180,000 - 138,882,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits package

Competitive salary and retirement plan

Job summary

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, part of NOIRLab, seeks an exceptional Active Optics Control Scientist to lead optimization of the observatory’s active optics performance and deliver world-class image quality from Cerro Pachón, Chile.

You will work with scientists, software and optical engineers, and operations teams across an international organization to advance performance during commissioning and survey operations.

Qualifications

• PhD in Astronomy, Optical Sciences, Physics, or a related discipline.
• 3+ years of experience developing, commissioning, or operating active optics or adaptive optics systems.
• Strong background in controls theory and control algorithm development.
• Experience with simulation, modeling, and analytical tools.
• Proficiency in Python or a comparable scientific programming language.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally, including observatory locations.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and improve on-sky active optics performance.
• Lead the optimization of active optics control algorithms.
• Analyze delivered image quality and identify performance improvements.
• Streamline, standardize, and modernize active optics control software.
• Drive end-to-end optimization of the active optics pipeline to reduce latency and execution time.
• Collaborate with scientists, software engineers, optical engineers, and operations teams across an international organization.
• Help ensure Rubin consistently achieves the image quality required for groundbreaking science.

Skills

Controls theory

Python

Analytical skills

Collaboration

Education

PhD in Astronomy / Optical Sciences / Physics

Tools

Zemax

Code V

Git / GitHub

Job description

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, part of NOIRLab, seeks an exceptional Active Optics Control Scientist to lead optimization of the observatory’s active optics performance and deliver world-class image quality from Cerro Pachón, Chile.

You will work with scientists, software and optical engineers, and operations teams across an international organization to advance performance during commissioning and survey operations.