Careers

Haystack is hiring! If you’re interested in applying to one of these open positions, and for more information, including detailed job requirements, please click on the job title to visit the MIT Careers page. We accept applications only through the MIT Careers site.

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Mechanical Engineer

MECHANICAL ENGINEER, to provide support for a variety of operational and development activities and projects for mechanical engineering needs. Will design and fast-prototype a range of mechanical systems that may be deployed from Antarctica to the tropics, potentially in space in support of the research mission of the Observatory and, when needed, Lincoln Laboratory, and generate and implement original solutions that contribute materially to the successful development of novel technology. Responsibilities include creating and maintaining a library of your own mechanical designs for documentation and reporting to sponsors; mechanical design simulation of static, dynamic, nonlinear plastic deformation, thermal, and fluid flow; providing technical integration and contributing to testing of completed fabricated designs; participating in and contributing to regular design and milestone meetings for various research projects; managing complex system fabrications; designing cryogenic dewars; contributing to proposal efforts with art-quality illustrative CAD drawings; processing and analyzing data in MATLAB (e.g., accelerometer data); designing for manufacturing for high-volume remote sensing systems (in the 100s); managing field deployments of installations; using machine tools (Bridgeport, lathe, drill press, sheet metal fabrication, etc.); systems design (ICDs, schematics, general system architectures); giving technical presentations at engineering review and conference meetings; and climbing and working on towers.  

Postdoctoral Associate, Astronomy

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE, Astronomy, to play a significant role in the radio astronomy group and contribute to ultra-high-angular-resolution studies of supermassive black holes and active galactic nuclei and related software development for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and other radio interferometers. Current research programs that are relevant for this position include astrophysical research of Sgr A*, M87, and other active galactic nuclei conducted with EHT and other radio astronomy instruments; ground and space expansions of the current EHT array in the area of software systems, receivers, correlators, data recorders, and overall telescope and array operations; development of advanced imaging and calibration techniques for interferometer data; application of machine learning techniques to research problems in astronomy and other research fields pursued at the observatory (e.g., geodesy and ionospheric studies); and development of astronomy analysis software and pipelines in high-performance computing systems involving GPUs and/or computing clusters. 

PIs are committed to comprehensive mentoring following MIT’s standard for postdoctoral training and offer a high degree of autonomy within the limits set by the projects funding the work.

Postdoctoral Associate, Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE, Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS), to join a group conducting fundamental and collaborative scientific research into the complex, highly intercoupled near-Earth space environment within the atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system.  Research uses a wide variety of global observational data sets provided by incoherent and coherent scatter radars, GNSS, ionosondes, optical atmospheric remote sensing, and satellite instruments.  The AGS group operates the Millstone Hill Geospace Facility, comprising the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar, global GNSS total electron content measurements, and Madrigal distributed database system.  Will continue and advance the group’s groundbreaking scientific investigations into dynamic magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (M-I-T) and lower atmosphere-ionosphere coupling processes under the influence of space and terrestrial weather; use existing ground-based and space-borne datasets and other available observational and/or modeling resource; report on scientific and application results through peer-reviewed publications, participation in scientific conferences, and direct interactions/collaborations with community colleagues; and help develop Haystack science and technical proposals.  Emphasis will be on stormtime M-I-T coupling at subauroral latitudes, including topside ionospheric variations and their connection to plasmaspheric dynamics, ionosphere-thermosphere responses to solar and terrestrial forcing during different geomagnetic storm phases, and ionospheric electrodynamics and irregularities.  

Research Scientist, Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences

RESEARCH SCIENTIST, Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS), to continue and advance the groundbreaking scientific investigations of the AGS group into dynamic magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling and lower atmosphere-ionosphere coupling processes under the influence of space and terrestrial weather.  Will conduct scientific studies of the geospace environment using existing ground-based and space-borne datasets offered by Haystack, along with other available observational and/or modeling resources.  Research emphasis will focus on stormtime magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling at subauroral latitudes, including topside ionospheric variations and their connection to plasmaspheric dynamics, ionosphere-thermosphere responses to solar and terrestrial forcing during different geomagnetic storm phases, ionospheric electrodynamics, and/or ionospheric irregularity mechanisms and observations.  This role also includes reporting on results through peer-reviewed publications, participation in scientific conferences, direct interactions/collaborations with community colleagues, and helping develop proposals to federal and non-federal sponsors.  

Research Scientist, Radio Astronomy

RESEARCH SCIENTIST RADIO ASTRONOMY, to lead day-to-day research activities related to the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) across broad activity areas. Will work with a team of other radio scientific researchers at Haystack and other partner institutions, lead and contribute to the development of successful research proposals, mentor students and postdoctoral researchers, and contribute to the development of educational activities. Current research programs include astrophysical research conducted with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) arrays (e.g., event-horizon-scale physics of black holes, active galactic nuclei, radio stars); ground and space expansions of the current EHT array in the area of software systems, receivers, correlators, data recorders, and overall telescope and array operations; development of advanced imaging and calibration techniques for interferometer data; application of machine learning (ML) techniques to research problems in astronomy and other research fields pursued at the observatory (e.g., geodesy and ionospheric studies); and development of astronomy analysis software and pipelines in high-performance computing systems involving GPUs and/or computing clusters.