Laser Interferometer Space Antenna: Sources and Data Analysis Tools

ORAU; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

The ORAU is seeking applicants for the NASA Postdoctoral Program, offering unique research opportunities for talented scientists. This fellowship provides the chance to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, focusing on astrophysics. Eligible candidates must have a Doctoral Degree and may include U.S. Citizens, U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents, and certain foreign nationals. The application requires a research proposal and recommendation letters.

Qualifications

• Applicants must have a Doctoral Degree.
• U.S. Citizens or U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents are eligible.

Responsibilities

• Engage in ongoing NASA research projects.
• Develop methods and tools for LISA data analysis.

Education

Doctoral Degree

Job description

Organization

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Reference Code

0003-NPP-NOV26-JPL-Astrophys

How to Apply

All applications must be submitted in Zintellect.

Please visit the NASA Postdoctoral Program website for application instructions and requirements: How to Apply | NASA Postdoctoral Program (orau.org).

A complete application to the NASA Postdoctoral Program includes:

• Research proposal
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official doctoral transcript documents

Application Deadline

11/1/2026 6:00:59 PM Eastern Time Zone

Job Description

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

Details

LISA is a planned joint NASA/ESA mission to measure gravitational waves from space. Astrophysical sources for LISA include compact binaries (e.g., white dwarf - white dwarf binaries), mergers of supermassive black holes, and inspirals of compact stellar-mass objects into supermassive black holes. Dr. Cutler does research on LISA sources and is developing methods and tools to be used in LISA data analysis. In particular, he is currently doing studies on how accurately physical source parameters (such as the source’s location on the sky, or the masses of both objects in a binary) could be extracted from the noisy LISA data set. He is also developing computationally efficient strategies for digging weak signals out of the data, and he is participating in the Mock LISA Data Challenges, wherein synthetic source signals are added, in a blind way, to synthetic LISA noise, and participants are challenged to extract the signals and recover the correct parameter values. The goal of the Mock LISA Data Challenges is to develop the data analysis tools that will be needed for LISA, and to demonstrate readiness in this area.

References:

[1] Barack, L. and Cutler, C., 2004, "LISA Capture Sources: Approximate Waveforms, Signal-to-Noise Ratios, and Parameter Estimation Accuracy", PRD 69, 082005.

[2] Cutler, C., and Harms, J., 2006, "Big Bang Observer and the neutron-star-binary subtraction problem", PRD 73, 042001.

Location

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Field of Science

Astrophysics

Advisors

Curt Cutler ([e-mail], 818-393-3251)

Eligibility

Applications with citizens from Designated Countries will not be accepted at this time, unless they are Legal Permanent Residents of the United States.

A complete list of Designated Countries can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/export-control.

Eligibility is currently open to:

• U.S. Citizens
• U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)
• Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status
• Applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. at the time of application with 1) a valid EAD card and 2) I-485 or I-589 forms in pending status

Questions

Please email [e-mail]

Point of Contact

Mikeala

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Doctoral Degree.