Gaia Vacancies

     

    Openings

     

    2023-02-07 Opening for a distributed PostgreSQL-GPU enabler/hacker for Gaia mission

    The Gaia Data Processing Centre in Geneva has a central role in the Gaia ecosystem in Switzerland, with a distributed database solution based on fork of PostgreSQL (Postgres-XL, TBase) to store, curate, present and analyse billions of astronomical time-series as part of the ESA Gaia mission

    The Gaia mission is one of the most complex astronomy endeavours up to date designed and performed in Europe, but also unique at the global scale. The Gaia space telescop is located 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth in Lagrange Point 2 and is not only special because of its unique multi-instrument data collection capabilities, but also because of the complexity of data processing needs, that are covered by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) consisting of about 500 scientists and IT specialists.

    The work conducted in this project will be part of a 3-year project related to the European Processor Initiative run by the AERO consortium funded by the European Commission Horizon 2022 programme and Swiss SEFRI. The project will involve interaction with industry and academic liaisons as well.

    The successful candidate will be responsible for the development of the GPU-optimized database query planner and executor of the distributed PostgreSQL fork used for the Gaia mission Variability Studies, as well as integration of TornadoVM Java-GPU enabling framework with Postgres PL/Java extension.

    DPCG is looking for a dynamic, curious, quick-learner, with knowledge of PostgreSQL/Postgres-XL/TBase development practices (planner/executor/extensions) or a desire to learn these, as well as understanding or experience with the GPU programming paradigm in the context of data processing. The GPU integration would be carried out using Intel Level-Zero framework. Expected is the knowledge of C language, Postgres internals and any of the above-mentioned technologies.

    DPCG offers the opportunity to be an important part of the international team of researchers, computer scientists and industry leaders working on one of the most successful astronomical projects and the bleeding edge technology as well as a relevant salary with possibility of a permanent contract after the initial 3 years.

    More info: contact Krzysztof Nienartowicz

     

    2023-02-07 Opening for a scientific developer for ESA Gaia mission variability studies

    The Gaia data processing centre in Geneva is looking for a scientific developer for the ESA Gaia mission variability studies. The Gaia space telescope is located 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth in the Lagrange Point 2 and is not only special because of its unique multi-instrument data collection capabilities, but also because of the complexity of the data processing needs, that are covered by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) consisting of around 500 scientists and IT specialists.

    The role of the Coordination Unit 7 (CU7) based in Geneva, Switzerland is to identify variable sources of light (i.e. pulsating stars, Active Galactic Nuclei, cataclysmic events, microlensing events, planetary transits, long period variables, eclipsing binaries, etc.), characterize them with specialized algorithms, classify them using machine learning techniques and extract scientific information of some specific stellar sources to be included in the public catalogue.

    The Gaia Data Processing Centre hosted in the Observatory in Geneva, Versoix (DPCG) is looking for a candidate who is interested to elevate their existing algorithms developed in Java to deal with over 12 billion Gaia astronomical time-series within a short period of time, dealing with the biggest trove of astronomical temporal data. The successful candidate would be responsible for porting existing algorithms to a Java-based TornadoVM framework to enable bleeding-edge GPU processing of vast amounts of data in the existing DPCG software pipeline on HPC platform.

    The work conducted in the project will be part of a bigger, 3-year project related to European Processor Initiative, funded by the European Commission Horizon 2022 programme and Swiss SEFRI. The project would involve interaction with industry and academic liaisons as well. DPCG is looking for a dynamic, curious, quick-learner with GPU development skills for HPC programming knowledge and advanced knowledge about the Java ecosystem. Understanding statistics, signal processing and astronomy/astrophysics/physics would be a plus given a big part of the job would be enabling algorithms for GPU on TornadoVM. DPCG offers the opportunity to be an important part of the international team of researchers, computer scientists and industry leaders working on one of the most succesful astronomical projects.

    More info: contact Krzysztof Nienartowicz

     

     

    ESA funding sources
    Research Fellowships
    ESA's Postdoctoral Research Fellowship programme is aimed at providing young scientists and engineers, holding a doctorate or the equivalent, with the means of doing research in space science and space applications. The Fellowships are open to nationals of ESA Member States and Canada (associated member). Fellows are hosted at one of the ESA establishments. All Fellowships in ESA's Science Support Office (SRE-S) at ESTEC belong to this category. More details are available from the Research Fellowship website.
    Young Graduate Trainees
    ESA's Young Graduate Trainee (YGT) programme offers recently graduated men and women, a one-year non-renewable training contract designed to give valuable work experience and to prepare for future employment in the space industry and/or research. More details are available from the ESA website.
    Student placements
    ESA's Internship Programme assists young people within its Member States interested in space and related areas. It helps them to meet their university requirements to carry out an internship as part of their degree course, and promotes their academic and professional development by placing them under the guidance of experienced professionals. More details are available from the ESA website.
     

    General funding sources
    European Commission: The Marie Curie Actions
    In the Framework Programme of the Human Resources and Mobility initiative the European Commission provides funding to researchers and research organisations with a view to promoting new skills and participation in multinational research teams. More details on eligability and application procedures are available on the Marie Curie Actions website.
    European Researcher's Mobility Portal
    This web portal links to a full range of organisations offering training, mobility and career development opportunities for researchers across Europe. A special section is devoted to Fellowships and Grants.