Computer Scientist (Postdoctoral Research Fellow) (IS-1550-11)

Computer Scientist (Postdoctoral Research Fellow) (IS-1550-11)

Application Deadline: 29 January 2025

Department: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Employment Type: Temporary

Location: Cambridge, MA

Compensation: $83,742 - $108,859 / year

Description

OPENING DATE: January 14, 2025
CLOSING DATE: January 29, 2025
TYPE OF POSITION: Trust Fund (Non-Federal), Temporary Not To Exceed One Year
DIVISION: High Energy Astrophysics Division
LOCATION: Cambridge, MA  02138
AREA OF CONSIDERATION: This position is open to all eligible candidates.
What are Trust Fund Positions?Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Childcare), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care). 
Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation, as required.
• Complete a Probationary Period if applicable. 
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States.  Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 

OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is at the forefront, internationally, of the scientific exploration of the universe. SAO combines its resources with those of the Harvard College Observatory to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA is the best-known astrophysics center in the world. Its programs range from ground-based astronomy and astrophysics research to space-based research, the engineering and development of major scientific instrumentation for space launch and use in large ground-based facilities, and research designed to improve science education. The research objectives of SAO are carried out primarily with the support of Government and Smithsonian Institution funds, with additional philanthropic support.  Government funds are in the form of Federal appropriations or the form of contracts and grants from other agencies. In contrast, Institution funds are available to SAO through grants from the Institution's Restricted Funds, Special Purpose Funds, Bureau Activities, Business Activities, and non-Federal contracts and grants. 

SUMMARY
This is the position of Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) team. The purpose of this position is to develop, plan, and conduct highly specialized research in the field of natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) applied to scientific literature and data systems. The incumbent will be expected to perform scholarly research and participate in advancing NLP techniques to enhance ADS functionalities for the astrophysical and broader scientific community.
 

MAJOR DUTIES

1.    Conduct a program of research and development in the area of NLP techniques, such as information extraction, text summarization, and semantic search, under the supervision and direction of the Principal Investigator.2.    Assist in the development and optimization of software pipelines and algorithms for the processing, analysis, and enrichment of scientific literature and metadata from ADS.3.    Engage in the dissemination of the results of the research, including preparing papers for publication in computer science and astrophysics journals and presenting findings at academic conferences.4.    Support the development of proposals for research funding related to NLP applications and their integration into scientific data systems.5.    Collaborate with interdisciplinary researchers in astrophysics and computer science to align AI and NLP tools with the needs of the ADS user community.6.    Provide technical guidance to research graduate students and interns working on related projects. 

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree:
Bachelor's degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

In addition to the basic requirements, candidates for the grade 11 must also possess one of the following:

A. Master's or equivalent graduate degree; or

B. Minimum of one-year specialized experience equivalent to at least grade 9 in the normal line of progression for this occupation.  Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position such as knowledge of the technical methods, principles, and practices in natural language processing and information retrieval; knowledge of modern machine learning techniques, in particular deep learning methods; ability to utilize large-scale computing resources and tools for processing and analyzing scientific literature datasets; skill in writing python code utilizing natural language processing libraries and frameworks.

C. Combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience equivalent to the above.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required:

• Knowledge of the technical methods, principles, and practices in natural language processing, including text analysis, machine learning, and information retrieval.
• Experience with programming languages commonly used in NLP and data science, such as Python or Java, and familiarity with NLP libraries and frameworks (e.g., spaCy, Hugging Face Transformers, or NLTK).
• Knowledge of modern machine learning techniques, particularly in deep learning for NLP applications (e.g., transformer models).
• Ability to utilize large-scale computing resources and tools for processing and analyzing scientific literature datasets.
• Familiarity with scientific publications, metadata standards, and digital libraries is desirable.
• Ability to work effectively as part of an interdisciplinary research group or technical team.

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package. Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.  The Smithsonian Institution values and seeks a diverse workforce. Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery." 
Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.  

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. Relocation expenses are not paid.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact hr@cfa.harvard.edu.  Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.  To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures. The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: https://www.si.edu/oeesd.
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in our workplace. Please visit the SAO website at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/