Flatiron Software Research Fellow

1000scholars; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Research budget

Access to HPC resources

Housing subsidy near NYC

Job summary

Flatiron Institute invites applications for the Flatiron Software Research Fellows (FSRF). Fellows develop and contribute to advanced astronomical software enabling new science, with substantial collaboration across the CCA, SCC, and Flatiron teams.

The role emphasizes community-building, software releases, publications, and potential mentorship of students. Appointments are typically two years, renewable based on performance, with access to a research budget and HPC resources.

Qualifications

• PhD in a related field is required or expected before appointment.
• Ability to develop or contribute to open-source software projects.
• Ability to conduct original astrophysical research and publish results.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, maintain, and support scientific software for astrophysics.
• Engage in computational and/or theoretical astrophysical research.
• Organize seminars, workshops, and meetings across the CCA and Flatiron community.
• Prepare manuscripts and presentations for conferences and journals.
• Mentor students in the CCA Pre-Doctoral and related programs.
• Share expertise through software tutorials and training.

Skills

Open-source software

Independent and collaborative work

Original research in astrophysics

Present research & publications

Software development

Computational astrophysics

Algorithms & software development

Data analysis

Statistics & machine learning

Scientific simulation

Theoretical astrophysics

Communication & documentation

Education

PhD in related field

Tools

HPC/large-scale computing

Job description

Flatiron Software Research Fellows

Flatiron Software Research Fellows are expected to develop or substantially contribute to innovative astronomical software projects that enable new or foundational science programs that can be independently directed and involve substantial collaboration with other members of the CCA or Flatiron Institute. Software projects are expected to enable new science and to encourage community engagement and use of the resulting tools. FSRFs will be encouraged to build their technical skills through engagement and collaboration with software engineers and other FSRFs at the CCA, other Flatiron centers, and the Flatiron Institute’s Scientific Computing Core (SCC). This includes attending and/or co-organizing software workshops and training hosted both by the CCA and the SCC. In addition to their own software development and research, Fellows help build the rich scientific community at the CCA and Flatiron Institute by: participating in seminars, colloquia, and group meetings; developing their software, mathematical, and computational expertise through internal educational opportunities; and sharing their knowledge through software releases and contributions, scientific publications, and/or presentations. Flatiron Software Research Fellows may also have the opportunity to mentor and educate graduate and undergraduate students through the CCA Pre-Doctoral Program, the CUNY Astrophysics Masters Program, the Simons-NSBP Scholars Summer Program, and the AstroCom NYC Program.

FSRF positions are generally two-year appointments that can be renewed for an additional three years, contingent on performance. All Fellows receive a research budget and have access to the Flatiron Institute’s powerful scientific computing resources, including 2 HPC clusters with a combined 180,000 cores, 600 GPUs and 60PB of raw storage. FSRFs may be eligible for subsidized housing within walking distance of the CCA. These positions will be based in our New York City offices, with anticipated start dates between late August and early October 2027.

Responsibilities

• Developing, implementing, maintaining, and supporting scientific software relevant to astrophysics
• Engaging in astrophysical research using computational and/or theoretical tools
• Assisting in the organization of CCA and Flatiron-wide collaborative activities including seminars, workshops and meetings
• Actively participating in the preparation of manuscripts for publication and presentations at conferences
• Assisting in student mentorship
• Sharing expertise and providing training and guidance to CCA staff and visitors as needed, including participation in the Software Group and periodically running software tutorial

Qualifications

Education

• Applicants are required to have (or receive before appointment) a PhD in a related field.

Related Skills & Other Requirements

• Ability to develop and/or contribute to open-source software projects
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Ability to do original research in astrophysics
• Ability to present research and other types of work, internally and externally
• Intellectual connections to projects in which the CCA is involved (if relevant)
• Expertise in technical elements of computational astrophysics research, which may include but are not limited to: algorithm and software development; application or development of computational or statistical methods; data analysis; modeling; statistics and machine learning; scientific simulation; or theoretical astrophysics
• Effective oral and written communication and data documentation

Competitive