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California Institute of Technology

Software Developer

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States, 91122


Software Developer

Job Category:

Fulltime Regular Exempt Overtime Eligible:

Overtime Eligible Benefits Eligible:

Benefit Based

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

Job Summary

IPAC at Caltech invites applications for a Software Developer to join the team that is developing the Survey Data System for NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission. As a Software Developer, you will build and maintain the software that will prepare, reformat, and package the NEO Surveyor Survey Data Systems (NSDS) data products for routine ingestion into the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). IPAC, part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech, is a dedicated team of scientists, engineers, and administrative personnel who provide science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to maximize discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. NEO Surveyor is a NASA Planetary Defense mission, scheduled to launch in 2027, that is optimized to detect, track, and characterize solar system small bodies that pose a potential risk to the Earth. IPAC is building the NSDS that ingests imaging and engineering data from the flight system, processes those data into calibrated image and source detection products, performs automated searches for moving solar system objects, assesses the quality of the survey data, and distributes data products to NASA archives and the user community.

Essential Job Duties

Develop software to identify and collect data product files from the NSDS operations filesystem and prepare them for copying to the archive. Develop software to parse lists of extracted source measurements generated from the NSDS image data and reformat these into database-load files to facilitate ingestion into the archive's relational databases. Develop scripts to query the NSDS Operations Databases for metadata and quality metrics accompanying the file products and reformat this information into archive-database-load files. Perform integrity checks to verify data accountability, correctness, content, and formatting following archive-ingestion. Write and maintain documentation on procedures and recipes for executing and maintaining all archive product preparation tools.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree (or equivalent combination of education and experience) in Information Technology, Software Applications Development, Physical and/or Mathematical Sciences, or related discipline. At least 3 years of relevant work experience in developing software. Experience with scripting and programming languages. Ability to write and maintain documentation for executing and managing software.

Preferred Qualifications

Besides these basic qualifications, there are a set of skills and experience that will enhance your contributions to this role. The following might give you a head start, but even if these don't describe you or your experience, we would still like to hear from you. Experience querying relational databases using SQL or some variant thereof. Experience managing extremely large datasets. Experience with data-integrity checking tools and hashing algorithms, for example, generating and verifying checksums. Scientific programming skills, preferably pertaining to physics and/or astronomy.

Required Documents

Cover Letter Resume Names and Contact information of 3 professional references

Application Deadline: January 6, 2025.

People choose to work at IPAC for many reasons, and the casual, employee-centric culture often leads to fulfilling, long-term careers and lasting professional 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.

To be considered for this position please visit our web site and apply on line at the following link:

https://hr.caltech.edu/work/job_openings

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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