Staff Scientist

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Job Summary

IPAC (https://www.ipac.caltech.edu/), part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech (www.caltech.edu), provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to enhance discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. IPAC invites applications from highly qualified individuals for a full-time scientist position to work with the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED).

The mission of NED (http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu) is to accelerate science discovery in astrophysics within NASA's strategic plan by providing a census of extragalactic objects augmented with data joined from across the electromagnetic spectrum for use by the research and lay communities worldwide with access through computer query protocols and user-friendly interfaces. NED provides data for more than 1.1 billion objects and is growing rapidly. NED merges data from published literature and from catalogs, with spectral coverage from gamma rays through radio frequencies. NED also offers a Gravitational Wave Followup (GWF) service to facilitate searches for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave events. This service is based on a curated Local Volume Sample of galaxies (Cook et al 2023).

This is an immediate opening for a scientist who is excited by the prospect of helping to identify, design and implement new data science approaches and tools to enhance the efficiency and useability of NED, and exploring new extragalactic archive science enabled by NED. The primary responsibility of this position is to contribute to keeping the content of the database current and accurate, particularly in view of the rapidly growing volume of data in the astrophysics literature.

Essential Job Duties

As a NED scientist, you will:

• Apply NED’s current methods for locating, extracting, transforming, and integrating data into the system.
• Work with scientists and engineers on the team to develop and apply new tools to accelerate the flow and fusion of data into NED.
• Perform science-based validation of NED data, including vetting the results of automated cross-matching software.
• Respond to user support requests related to the scientific content of NED.
• Help to design and validate NED services and interfaces to enable science use cases for NED data.
• Conduct research, including archival research exploiting NED’s content and data synthesis.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in astronomy, physics, computer science or a related field.
• Two years of post-PhD experience in astronomy.
• Knowledge of astronomical coordinate systems, nomenclature, astrometry, photometry, galaxy classifications, and observational techniques.
• Demonstrated experience in at least one stage of the production or validation, or analysis of astronomical data sets.
• Experience in computer programming.
• Familiarity in methodology used in astronomy and data science.

Preferred Qualifications

These are a set of skills and experiences which will add to your ability to contribute to the roles and responsibilities of the position. The following attributes would make you a better fit for this position, but even if these do not describe you or your experience, we would still like to hear from you:

• Two years or more experience in computer programming as a research astronomer or data scientist.
• Peer-reviewed publications in areas of extragalactic astronomy that are synergistic with the functional work on NED.
• Experience with Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence.
• Proficiency in Python, working experience of Astropy.
• Experience manipulating large, diverse and complex data sets.
• Experience with large databases.

Required Documents

• Full resume or CV.
• Cover letter.
• List of three professional references.

Complete applications submitted by February 28, 2026 will receive full consideration, but review of applications will continue until a suitable candidate has been identified.

Life at IPAC

People choose to work at IPAC for many reasons, and the casual, employee-centric culture often leads to fulfilling, long-term careers and lasting relationships. Caltech’s benefits program offers a quality, competitive benefits package that is affordable for you and the Institute. The program provides a strong base of coverage for you and your dependents, and the ability to choose the plan and the level of coverage that best meet your needs. We also offer a 403(b) defined contribution plan to eligible staff as well as a Voluntary Retirement Savings (TDA) Plan. IPAC staff have access to the Institute’s facilities, including the athletic center, libraries, on-site daycare, professional development and enrichment classes, and Athenaeum club membership.