Postdoc: Tudat Radio Science & Orbit Determination

Delft University of Technology; Delft; On-site; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Delft University of Technology invites applications for a Postdoc in Radio Science & Orbit Determination to advance Tudat-based open science spaceflight dynamics tools. The role blends core Tudat development in C++ and Python with radio-science application work for planetary missions, data ingestion, and validation.

You will collaborate across TU Delft and partner institutes, publish results, and contribute to FAIR/open workflows, tutorials, and user support.

Qualifications

• PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Astronomy or similar.
• Strong software engineering in C++ and Python; Git, CI, testing and code reviews.
• Background in astrodynamics/orbit determination and numerical methods.
• Experience with Tudat is highly preferred; knowledge of Tudat or similar tools required.
• Experience with radio-tracking data analysis or planetary mission dynamics is a plus.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary open-source environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Tudat’s C++ core and Python interfaces.
• Extend and validate radio-science estimation pipelines, including observation models and dynamical models.
• Extend background models in Tudat and interfaces for mission data ingestion.
• Lead the application of the framework to selected missions and datasets, coordinating with project partners.
• Contribute to publications describing the platform and the radio-science workflows.
• Build end-to-end FAIR/open-science workflows and maintain reproducible analyses.
• Write documentation, tutorials, and developer guides; support users via channels.
• Collaborate with platform developers and scientists across TU Delft and partners.

Skills

C++

Python

Git

CI/CD

Testing

Code review

Education

Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Tudat

CI pipelines

Job description

Delft University of Technology invites applications for a Postdoc in Radio Science & Orbit Determination to advance Tudat-based open science spaceflight dynamics tools. The role blends core Tudat development in C++ and Python with radio-science application work for planetary missions, data ingestion, and validation.

You will collaborate across TU Delft and partner institutes, publish results, and contribute to FAIR/open workflows, tutorials, and user support.