ML for Radio Observatory Operations - Postdoc (1 year)

Skatelescope; Manchester; Remote; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Conference travel

Flexible working hours

Job summary

SKAO Science Operations invites an early-career researcher for a 1-year fixed-term Postdoctoral position to explore and prototype ML/AI techniques for radio observatory operations. The role is based at the SKAO Global Headquarters, Jodrell Bank, UK, with collaboration across scientists, engineers and software developers.

The successful candidate will be able to work independently and in a globally distributed team, with potential to travel for conferences.

Qualifications

• University PhD or near submission in Astronomy, Physics, CS, Data Science, or related field.
• Expertise in radio astronomy or ML/AI in physical sciences.
• Ability to communicate technical work clearly to diverse audiences.
• Experience working independently and in globally distributed teams.

Responsibilities

• Identify and prioritise ML/AI opportunities to improve observatory operations.
• Develop, train, test and validate ML/AI models using real and simulated data.
• Evaluate performance, robustness, explainability, and reproducibility.
• Collaborate with software/engineering teams to integrate ML/AI tools.
• Document methods, results and recommendations.
• Present results at internal meetings and to the wider community.
• Undertake personal research up to 25% of employed hours.

Skills

ML/AI expertise

Radio astronomy knowledge

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Time-series analysis

Anomaly detection

RFI detection

Education

PhD in Astronomy or Physics or CS/Data Science

Job description

SKAO Science Operations invites an early-career researcher for a 1-year fixed-term Postdoctoral position to explore and prototype ML/AI techniques for radio observatory operations. The role is based at the SKAO Global Headquarters, Jodrell Bank, UK, with collaboration across scientists, engineers and software developers.

The successful candidate will be able to work independently and in a globally distributed team, with potential to travel for conferences.