Operations Scientist for LISA Pathfinder (LPF)

Operations Scientist for LISA Pathfinder (LPF)(SOO-27)

There is an opportunity to support ESA at ESAC for the following work.

Overview

LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is the technology demonstrator for the LISA mission and its primary goal is to demonstrate the critical technologies needed for LISA. The payload on-board LPF will consist of the European LISA Technology Package (LTP) and a contribution provided by the NASA/JPL, the Disturbance Reduction System (DRS).

The Science and Technology Operations Centre (STOC) is the point of interface to the scientific community, and is responsible for the payload scheduling, quick-look data analysis, data processing and archiving.

Specific tasks

Activities during the Development Phase

The activities during the development phase are in, but not limited to, the following areas:

LISA Pathfinder (LPF) and LISA Technology Package (LTP) development: The Operations Scientist will support the development of both the LPF spacecraft and the LTP payload. This will include participation in regular project meetings as well as participation in formal Project Reviews.
Scientific & Technical Operations Centre (STOC) software tools: The Operations Scientist will be responsible for the preparation of the User Requirements Documentation for the software tools which will be developed external to the STOC and for the writing and maintenance of the Science Archive User Requirements document. In addition, the Operations Scientist will prepare and execute the Acceptance Test Plan of the software tools developed external t the STOC, and of the Science Archive.
Run procedures: Using a simulator developed external to the STOC, the Operations Scientist will support the writing of the LTP experiment run procedures and will validate them prior to launch.
Outreach activities: As a member of the Research and Scientific Support Department of ESA, the Operations Scientist will be expected to perform Public Outreach Activities focussed on LISA Pathfinder and LISA, including seminars, interviews, etc.

Activities during the Operational Phase

The activities during the Operational Phase are in, but not limited to, the following areas:

Run procedures: Using a simulator developed external to the LISA PF STOC, the Operations Scientist will prepare additional run procedures as required and will validate them prior to transfer to the Mission Operation Centre (MOC).
Payload planning: The Operations Scientist will support the Short-Term Payload Planning of the LTP. This will involve participating (in collaboration with the Project Scientist and Principal Investigators of the LTP) in the decision making processes based on previous on current LTP results, and also in the generation of the inputs to be sent to the MOC to implement the run procedures into the spacecraft timeline and the maintenance of the run procedure database.
Data analysis: Together with other STOC scientists, the Operations Scientist will operate the Quick-Look data analysis system and participate in the complete Data Analysis of the LTP data. This will involve the daily analysis and interpretation of the previous day’s data. The Operations Scientist is also responsible for the co-ordination of the data-product inputs to the Science Archive.
Documentation: The Operations Scientist will be responsible to maintain the Operational documentation.
LISA payload development: The Operations Scientist will be expected to participate in the LISA payload development activities, especially in the areas of direct overlap with LISA Pathfinder.
Outreach activities: As a member of the Research and Scientific Support Department of ESA, the Operations Scientist will be expected to perform Public Outreach Activities focussed on LISA Pathfinder and LISA, including seminars, interviews, etc.

Post-Operational Support

The activities during the Post-Operational Phase are in the following areas:

Data Analysis: The Operations Scientist will continue to perform the data analysis of the LTP data in order to maximise the return from the mission.
Technology Transfer: As LPF is a technology demonstrator for the LISA mission, the Operations Scientist will be involved in the transfer of the technology and lessons learned from the LPF mission to the LISA project. This will involve, but not be limited to, the writing of documents & scientific articles summarising the performance of the LTP, presentation of the results at major scientific conferences, and active participation in the LISA payload development.
Outreach Activities: As a member of the Research and Scientific Support Department of ESA, the Operations Scientist will be expected to perform Public Outreach Activities focussed on LISA Pathfinder and LISA, including seminars, interviews, etc.

Specific qualification requirements

A PhD in Physics plus a few years of experience in laboratory instrumentation and gravitational wave physics experiments are required.

Specific knowledge is required in the following areas:

A significant portion of the tasks hereunder concerns coordination, including extensive liaison with scientific institutes and interaction with individual scientists and engineers. Therefore strong communication skills are required as well as an ability to work within an international team of people with diverse backgrounds.
The above tasks require fluency in English, one of the official languages of ESA and the working language of the LISA PF project. The key-person must be willing to travel extensively.
All applicants must hold a valid passport from a country of the European Union.

Work load permitting, the key person will be encouraged to carry-out his own scientific research, preferably in an area related to LISA science. However, this shall under no circumstances interfere with his/her operational duties as defined therein.

Locations

The initial (6-12 months) is at ESTEC, the Netherlands for familiarisation with the LPF Project and training.

After this initial period, you will be relocated to ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, at Villafranca del Castillo, near Madrid, Spain.

During the operational phase of the mission (2009-2010) extensive stays at ESOC (Damstadt, Germany) may be needed.

You will relocate to ESTEC at the start of the post-operations phase.

Contract

The Contract is for permanent employment.

The standard working hours are 40 per week. There are 12 public holidays and an additional 27 annual days holiday.

Summary

Aurora's successful formula is ensuring the happiness of employees and customers.

To be considered for this Position

Provide prior to 27 October 2006 a complete and detailed Recruitment Form to Alex Jeanes, user ajeanes at domain aurora.nl quoting reference SOO-27.