PFS Survey Postdoctoral Scholar at Kavli IPMU

Applicants are invited for one or two postdoctoral positions at Kavli IPMU. The title of this position is “PFS Survey Postdoctoral Scholar”. PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph) is a very wide-field, highly-multiplexed optical & near-infrared spectrograph that is being developed as an upcoming facility instrument on the 8.2m Subaru Telescope. The science and　technical teams are based on international collaboration under the initiative of Kavli IPMU. The instrument development and survey planning are on-going envisioning the start of science operation around 2019. The Postdoctoral Scholar will be co-supervised by the Kavli IPMU faculty members Masahiro Takada (Cosmology, PFS project scientist) and Naoyuki Tamura (Galaxy evolution & astronomical instrumentation, PFS project systems engineer) and is expected to play key roles in the two important areas as follows:

• (1) Planning PFS survey programs to address the major scientific objectives in Cosmology, galaxy & AGN evolution, and Galactic archaeology. The successful applicant is expected to perform detailed feasibility studies and explore optimal survey strategies to maximize the observation efficiency, which will be the key requirement of a proposal document to the Subaru Strategic Program.
• (2) Planning and taking the lead of system integration and tests of the PFS instrument on the telescope at the Subaru observatory. The successful applicant is expected in particular to develop strategies of night-time engineering observations.

Throughout these studies, he/she is also expected to give feedbacks to PFS software packages under development for instrument control, observation planning, data reduction & calibration, and data archive.

Candidates are desired to have experience of conducting/participating in spectroscopic survey programs and commissioning an instrument on a 8-10m class telescope. They should also have expertise of data reduction and analysis, not only for astronomical research such as photometry, redshift measurement, spectral line fitting & flux measurement, but also for general engineering to characterize the instrument in the commissioning process.

Applicants should have a Ph.D. in astronomy, physics or equivalent. The applications should include a CV, research statement, publication list, and at least three letters of recommendation. They should be uploaded at:
https://reg.ipmu.jp/application/2015/pfs

Experience of spectroscopic survey observation and instrument commissioning as well as general instrumentation & engineering should be mentioned in the research statement.

The appointment is for three years, with a possible extension depending on project status and availability of resources. The search is open until filled, but for full considerations please submit applications and reference letters to our website by Jan 15, 2015.

Further Info:
Naoyuki Tamura
<naoyuki.tamura _at_ ipmu.jp>
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
The University of Tokyo
5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan