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Astrophysics Institute Program Scientist [Data & Software Systems]
11th Hour Racing
Baltimore, MD, USA
Posted on Oct 11, 2025
Summary
The Astrophysics Institute at Schmidt Sciences seeks a Data Management & Software Systems expert to guide the design and implementation of next-generation data management systems for astronomy. This role is ideal for a technically fluent leader who bridges astronomy, data engineering, and software architecture — someone who understands the full life cycle of astronomical data and can oversee complex, distributed systems built to serve the global scientific community.
The successful candidate will help shape the Institute’s data management strategy, overseeing teams and partners building data pipelines, archives, and user-facing tools for ground- and space-based observatories. This is a rare opportunity to define how philanthropy can accelerate scientific discovery through robust, open, and interoperable data infrastructure.
Schmidt Sciences
Schmidt Sciences is a philanthropy dedicated to fostering the advancement of science and technology. We approach this by identifying under-supported or unconventional areas of exploration and discovery in order to accelerate and deepen our understanding of the natural world and develop solutions to global issues.
We seek ideas, people, and techniques across disciplines of science and technology to catalyze results for society. Our focus areas include AI and Advanced Computing, Astrophysics and Space, Biosciences, Climate, and Cross-Science programs.
The Astrophysics Institute at Schmidt Sciences aims to rapidly expand our knowledge of the universe through the creation of innovative hardware and software platforms. This includes the development of computational tools and frameworks, ground and space-based instrumentation, and the promotion of fresh approaches to technological advancement that develop resources at a fraction of the typical time and cost.
The Role
Reporting to the Director of the Astrophysics Institute, the Data Management & Software Systems Expert will guide the architecture, integration, and strategy of data management systems across the Institute’s observatory and mission portfolio.
This person will define system-level requirements, evaluate technical designs, and ensure that data infrastructure developed by partners and grantees meets the highest standards of interoperability, performance, and accessibility. They will be responsible for identifying and selecting qualified external vendors and contractors, establishing contractual agreements, and overseeing their work throughout project lifecycles. They will not necessarily write production code but must understand the systems deeply enough to direct, review, and synthesize the work of multiple teams.
Key responsibilities for this role include the following:
Data Systems Architecture and Strategy
- Develop and refine the architecture for data management systems supporting Schmidt Sciences–funded observatories and instruments.
- Define system-level requirements and workflows — from raw telemetry to science-ready archives — ensuring scalability, reproducibility, and open access.
- Establish technical standards and documentation frameworks for data pipelines, archives, and analysis services.
Implementation Oversight and Integration
- Advise or oversee technical teams and partner institutions implementing data infrastructure and software.
- Evaluate and select technologies that support long-term data operations and community access.
- Ensure seamless integration between data management systems, observatory operations, and user-facing science tools.
- Maintain high standards of reliability, transparency, and sustainability in system design.
Data Stewardship and Standards
- Champion best practices in data quality, provenance, and reproducibility.
- Represent Schmidt Sciences in community initiatives on data standards, interoperability, and open-source development.
- Promote alignment with community best-practices (e.g., FAIR data principles,IVOA protocols).
Collaboration and Leadership
- Act as a bridge between astronomers, software engineers, and data scientists, translating scientific needs into actionable system requirements.
- Mentor and advise teams on data architecture and software design practices.
- Convene or participate in workshops and collaborative efforts to advance community data infrastructure.
Requirements
- Advanced degree (Ph.D. or equivalent experience) in Astronomy, Astrophysics, Computer Science, or a closely related field.
- Minimum 8 years of experience in the design, development, or management of large-scale astronomical or scientific data management systems.
- Proven ability to define and lead technical architectures for complex, distributed data pipelines and archives.
- Deep understanding of astronomical data life cycles, from instrument telemetry through calibration, reduction, curation, and scientific dissemination.
- Familiarity with software engineering best practices, including version control, testing, documentation, and continuous integration.
- Experience supervising technical teams (software engineers, DevOps, or data pipeline scientists) or coordinating multi-institutional collaborations.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to translate between software engineers and scientists.
- Demonstrated success working across interdisciplinary, multi-organization projects.
- Based at one of Schmidt Sciences’ offices (New York, Baltimore), with the ability to travel periodically to partner sites and observatories.
Desired Additional Skills
- Expertise with data pipeline and open source data management technologies, such as Apache Airflow, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, object storage (e.g., S3-compatible).
- Experience architecting systems that serve petabyte-scale datasets and support high-throughput data access or query workloads.
- Familiarity with cloud computing (AWS, GCP, Azure) and hybrid deployment strategies for science operations.
- Knowledge of astronomy data formats and standards (FITS, VO protocols, ObsCore, TAP, ADQL).
- Understanding of FAIR data principles, data provenance systems, and long-term data stewardship.
- Experience leading open-source scientific software projects or contributing to major community codes (e.g., Astropy, LSST stack, ESA Gaia tools).
- Awareness of machine learning and AI-assisted data processing trends relevant to next-generation observatories.
- Comfort with prototyping, evaluating, and documenting new technologies and operational models.
This is an exempt role.