System Administrator and Software Engineer for University Observatory
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University Observatory, Faculty of Physics
The Universitäts-Sternwarte München (USM), or University Observatory Munich, is a historic, 200-year-old observatory within the Physics Faculty of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU). It hosts 10 astrophysics professors and their research groups, which cover broad areas of astronomy, astrophysics, and planetary science.
Homepage: https://www.physik.lmu.de
The University Observatory Munich seeks a new system administrator to support the research activities of its 10 astrophysics professors and their research groups, which are part of the Faculty of Physics of the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU). The position is jointly appointed between the University Observatory and the IT Services Group (Rechnerbetriebsgruppe) of the Faculty of Physics, which are located at different parts of the LMU campus.
The ideal candidate has excellent communication skills, is proactive and adopts a solution- and service-oriented mindset. Furthermore, the position requires competent time management skills as the ideal candidate has two key roles to fulfil. As the system administrator of the University Observatory, he or she is expected to service the scientific computing needs of a diverse set of researchers, including providing software engineering and data management advice. As a member of the IT Services Group (led by Dr. Robert Redl), he or she is expected to be a “team player” and contribute to its activities.
The key long-term task of the ideal candidate is to lead the review, reform and upgrade of the scientific computing services of the University Observatory in close collaboration with a computing committee (that includes Dr. Redl).
The applicant must have at least a Master degree in applied mathematics, computer science, engineering, astrophysics or a comparable discipline in the natural sciences. Ph.D holders are also encouraged to apply. Prerequisites include experience with operating systems (especially Linux and MacOS), scripting languages for administration (e.g. Bash), programming languages for scientific computing (Python, C/C++, Fortran, Julia, etc), version control systems (especially with Git) and high-performance computing. If the applicant lacks experience in some of these aspects, he or she must show a willingness to acquire it “on the job” as a member of the IT Services Group. Fluency in English is a must (as the working language of science is English) and fluency in German is desired but not compulsory.
The position is offered at the E13-E14 level of the German civil service with the exact salary being dependent on the work experience of the candidate. The position has an initial term of 2 years and may be made permanent upon a satisfactory performance review. Please note that this is a service position and not an academic or research position. There are no teaching requirements associated with this service position. The successful applicant is expected to start the position in 2025. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an in-person interview at the University Observatory.
Applications consist of a cover letter explaining why the applicant is interested in and qualified for the position (maximum of 2 pages) and a CV (maximum of 2 pages). Applications should be sent as a single PDF file to bewerbung.rbg@physik.uni-muenchen.de. Separately, the applicant should arrange for at least 2 letters of reference to be sent directly to the same email address. Questions about the position may be sent to Dr. Robert Redl (robert.redl@lmu.de) and Prof. Dr. Kevin Heng (kevin.heng@physik.lmu.de).