The Gaia group at the ICCUB offers a postdoctoral position at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) of the University of Barcelona in the project SPACIOUS, funded by Horizon Europe. The postdoc will be part of the Gaia-UB group (https://gaia.ub.edu/) with about 25 scientists and engineers of the Gaia mission.

The SPACIOUS project aims to boost the scientific exploitation of ESA mission data by developing a computational framework for astrophysical research that requires Big Data and Data Mining technologies to be addressed, with a special focus on the Gaia and Euclid missions.

The position offered will be devoted, on the one hand, to the definition of scientific requirements for the framework, selection and preparation of the datasets to be used and scientific guidance for the technical development. On the other hand, it will supervise and manage the execution of several “scientific challenges” included in the project; these challenges are key scientific projects requiring the use of large datasets that will be executed in the developed framework, becoming both test cases and a demonstration of performance. The position will also act as contact point and supervisor of the users of the system.

We will value previous work in the Gaia and/or Euclid missions; on the technical side, we require experience in programming and in astrophysical applications of data mining and big data techniques. We will also value experience in the use of Commercial Cloud resources and the management of software development projects.

Employment conditions:

The position is offered for 2.5 years. The contract is expected to begin around July 2024. Gross annual salary is about 30.000€, depending on the experience. This includes social security and public healthcare benefits, covering spouse and children.

Applicants should provide:

• curriculum vitae
• list of publications
• letter of motivation including research experience and interests (2 pages max).

Applications should be done using this link before April 21st, 2024.

Inquiries about the application submission can be directed to Lola Balaguer (lbalaguer@fqa.ub.edu).
For inquiries about the scientific aspects, please contact Xavier Luri (xluri@fqa.ub.edu).

About the Institute of Cosmos Sciences:

Relevant to the offered position, researchers of the institute have broad interests, including galactic dynamics, open and globular clusters, stellar physics, star formation, models of galaxy formation and evolution, the Large Magellanic Clouds, computational astrophysics, data
analysis, cloud computing.
The Institute of Cosmos Sciences is a research institute of the University of Barcelona. It is an interdisciplinary center dedicated to fundamental research in the fields of cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics. In addition, the institute has a strong technology program through its participation in international collaborations in observational astronomy and experimental particle physics.

As part of the University of Barcelona, the ICCUB is a recipient of the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R) Award, which recognises, among other achievements, respect for equal opportunities and the capacity to attract talent in a positive working environment that promotes the pursuit of successful research careers. The ICCUB respects the principles of open, transparent, merit-based selection. We strongly encourage women and underrepresented minorities to apply. For additional information please see the Diversity, equity and inclusion Commission.

The ICCUB is located in Barcelona, considered the 8th World's Best Cities 2022: one with near- perfect weather year-round, miles and miles of beaches, iconic  parks, striking architecture and colorful neighborhoods that march to their own beat—artistic, sophisticated, bohemian. Moreover, it is a pole of attraction for the technology sector, a top choice to establish a company in this sector, and it hosts some of the world's major technological events, such as the Mobile World Congress and the Smart City Expo. In addition, Barcelona and its metropolitan area is a leading destination on the map of global technological ecosystems and
has infrastructures such as science parks, universities and the 22@ district.

SPACIOUS is a Horizon Europe HORIZON-CL4-2023-SPACE-01-71 project funded under grant agreement no. 101135205