Job description
Join the Lumen Sky Research Institute as an Astronomical Data Analyst, where you will transform vast telescope datasets into actionable insights that advance our understanding of the universe. This role blends astronomy, data engineering, and exploratory analysis to support cutting-edge observational campaigns and archival research.
You will collaborate with astronomers, software engineers, and education outreach teams to build robust data products, improve measurement pipelines, and deliver clear results to stakeholders.
Responsibility
- Design, implement, and maintain scalable data pipelines for astronomical datasets from ground- and space-based telescopes and simulations.
- Develop reproducible analysis workflows using Python, Astropy, NumPy, SciPy, SQL, and modern data tooling.
- Collaborate with scientists to define data products, including photometry, spectroscopy, time-domain analyses, and survey metrics.
- Apply statistical methods to detect signals, transients, and variable sources; validate results with simulations and cross-checks.
- Build visualization dashboards and reporting tools to communicate findings to researchers and external partners.
- Document methodologies and contribute to open-source projects; mentor junior team members and maintain code quality with version control.
- Stay current with astronomy data standards and emerging techniques to continuously improve analysis workflows.
Qualification
- Bachelor's degree in Astronomy, Physics, Data Science, or a related field; Master’s preferred.
- 2+ years of hands-on astronomical data analysis experience with Python and scientific libraries (Astropy, NumPy, SciPy).
- Experience with data visualization (Matplotlib, Plotly) and Jupyter notebooks; comfortable with SQL and data querying.
- Familiarity with FITS formats, VO standards, image processing, and time-domain analysis; experience with photometry or spectroscopy a plus.
- Strong statistical foundation and experience applying ML/statistical methods for signal detection and anomaly detection.
- Proven ability to work in multidisciplinary teams, communicate results clearly, and manage multiple priorities.
- Remote-friendly with a proactive, collaborative mindset and good documentation practices.