CosmicAI Fellow

Position Description:

Position Summary

The newly established National Science Foundation (NSF)-Simons CosmicAI Institute seeks to hire two postdoctoral fellows to help initiate a new comprehensive research program to foster foundational advancements in AI through the analysis and processing of astronomical data at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), located on the grounds of the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, Virginia. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with CosmicAI team members at the University of Utah. Data volumes for interferometric facilities will increase by over two orders of magnitude in the coming decade with instruments such as the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU) on Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). CosmicAI research efforts at NRAO will be focused on expediting the calibration, imaging, and analysis of this high-dimensional data. Although stationed at NRAO, CosmicAI fellows will have full access to Institute facilities and equipment (e.g., world-class computational resources at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, including Vista, a newly instantiated 600 GPU node cluster) and routinely collaborate with Institute members across all sites to facilitate the development of cutting-edge AI tools and methodologies.

The NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins (CosmicAI) aims to grow transformative AI advances with the overarching goal to increase the accessibility of astronomy data and knowledge for researchers, students, and the public. CosmicAI leverages partnerships between academia (UT Austin, U. of Virginia, U. of Utah, UCLA), national facilities (NRAO and NSF NOIRLab), nonprofits, and industry to develop capabilities that enable astronomical researchers to conceptualize, define, and execute research projects via trustworthy, efficient, robust, and explainable AI methods. By building next-generation AI tools, the Institute aims to accelerate discoveries related to the most basic human question: Where do we come from?

NRAO is a diverse research and development organization that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. The Observatory operates a variety of radio telescopes that span the globe, including the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) across North America, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. These telescopes are among the most advanced in the world, allowing astronomers to explore the universe in unprecedented detail.

CosmicAI fellows at NRAO will be expected to spend 50% of their time on Institute related research efforts, with the remaining 50% available for independent research; ideally there will be substantial overlap between the two. The CosmicAI Fellowship appointment will be awarded initially for a two-year period that is renewable for a third year. Institute directed research will focus on two main areas:

Anomaly Detection for Data Calibration

• Developing a methodology and toolset to distinguish good calibrations from problematic calibrations that currently require human evaluation to expedite high-volume, high-throughput calibration and imaging.

Hyperspectral Cube Image Segmentation:

• Developing  robust, automated data segmentation for spatio-kinematic regions of interest in hyperspectral image cubes  and leveraging to improve the efficiency of creating compact science-ready data products in imaging pipelines.

As a CosmicAI fellow at NRAO you will play a leading role in this groundbreaking research, contributing to either or both areas depending on your interest and expertise.

Work Environment

Work is mission driven, team oriented and typically performed in an office setting within a research or development environment.

Who You Are:

• You have a PhD in Astronomy, Astrophysics, Physics, Data Science, or a related field.
• Previous experience in data science, data reduction and analysis, radio astronomy, and/or software development.
• Established record of independent research.
• Research expertise in interferometric radio/millimeter/submillimeter astronomy.
• Proficiency working with a geographically distributed, multi-disciplinary team.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with standard radio astronomy data reduction software (e.g., CASA)
• Experience with modern machine learning / deep learning techniques and software packages
• Experience with high performance or high throughput computing (HPC/HTC)
• Experience with high dimensional data

Competency Summary

• Fluency in the English language.
• Excellent communication skills including both presentations and writing technical reports.

Total Rewards:

Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) offers a comprehensive total rewards package for this position, subject to eligibility requirements. We are committed to serving our employees and their families with an extensive and competitive compensation and benefits package that supports our employees’ overall well-being and career growth.

Compensation

The salary for this position will be commensurable with other prestigious U.S. postdoctoral fellowships.

Benefits:

AUI’s benefits package addresses the needs of employees and their families with most benefits beginning on the first day of employment. AUI provides excellent paid time off (13 holidays, annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days and 15 sick days, additional time off for doctor/dentist visits, and 8 weeks of paid parental leave). Medical, dental and vision plans are effective on the first day of employment. AUI’s retirement benefit contributes an amount equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant’s base pay with no required employee contribution; we also offer an optional supplemental, tax-deferred plan for employee retirement contributions.

Application Instructions:

Select the “Apply” button. Please prepare and send a single PDF document consisting of the following items:

1. Cover letter describing why you are interested in this position. The letter should describe how your skills and experience match the position and qualifications described above, and whether you are interested in working on one of the two research areas, or both.
2. Curriculum Vitae & Publication List.
3. Summary of past research and technical experience (maximum of 3 pages), including any data science or astronomical data processing/analysis work relevant to this position.

Please also have three letters of recommendation sent to [email protected].

The nominal start of these positions is on or around October 1, 2025.

For full consideration, please have all application materials submitted by November 15, 2024.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement:

AUI is an equal opportunity employer. Women, Minorities, Vietnam-Era Veterans, Disabled Veterans, Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. To view our complete statement, please visit http://jobs.jobvite.com/nrao/jobs. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process due to a disability, you may submit your request by sending an email to [email protected].

PM20

The NRAO is an equal opportunity employer (M/F/D/V)