Position Description

The NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) invites applications for the 2027 Jansky Fellowship Program. The Jansky Fellowships support outstanding early career scientists to conduct independent research which utilizes NSF NRAO facilities and contributes to the NSF NRAO’s mission.

Since its inception over 60 years ago NRAO has been enabling forefront research into the Universe at radio wavelengths. In partnership with the scientific community, we provide world-leading telescopes, instrumentation, and expertise, train the next generation of scientists and engineers, and promote astronomy to foster a more scientifically literate society. NRAO operates four world-class research facilities: the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), and the Green Bank Observatory (GBO), and is developing, and soon constructing, the next generation VLA (ngVLA) pushing the boundaries of the state of the art.

We welcome applicants who bring innovative dimensions to the Observatory and to the field of radio astronomy. As a Jansky Fellow, you will have a unique opportunity to contribute to, and learn from, the development and delivery of the largest and most capable radio telescopes in the world. Jansky Fellowship Program supports projects in radio astronomy and multi-wavelength science, radio astronomy techniques, instrumentation, computation, and theory. Candidates with expertise or interest in NSF NRAO /GBO technological initiatives, such as very long baseline interferometry or Green Bank telescope upgrades, are encouraged to apply.

Appointments may be made at the three internal NSF NRAO/GBO sites (Socorro/Albuquerque NM, Charlottesville VA, and Green Bank WV). Applicants should describe how their research or technical interests couple with NRAO’s mission, telescopes or science. In compelling cases, a ‘split appointment’ Jansky Fellowship between a U.S. based university and an NRAO site, or a ‘non-resident’ Jansky Fellowship hosted at a university within the United States, may be offered. Non-resident Jansky Fellows are expected to develop a research program that fosters close ties with the NRAO and describe how residence at their proposed host university will accomplish this. Frequent and/or long-term visits to NRAO sites during the non-resident Fellowship are strongly encouraged. NRAO supports partial teleworking arrangements for scientific postdoctoral fellows.

The Jansky Fellowship appointment is awarded between a two-and three-year period.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States when employment begins. NRAO does not sponsor H-1B visas for this position. Qualified candidates who require visa sponsorship may be eligible through the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, subject to applicable program requirements and eligibility.

Application Procedure:

The Jansky Fellowship Program is open to early career applicants of any nationality who at the start of the fellowship will have not more than 5 years of postdoctoral experience, but well justified exceptions to this rule will be given full consideration. The applications will be evaluated relative to the opportunity and career stage, with preference given to the applicants within the first few years past their PhD award. Jansky Fellowships are awarded based upon a review by a committee that comprises distinguished scientists and astronomers from NRAO and external research institutes, the NRAO Assistant Director for Science Support and Research, and the Lead of the Jansky Fellowship program.

Selection criteria

• PhD in astronomy, (astro)physics, computer science or a related field. (Please indicate in your statement if you had a significant break, or hardship, since receiving your PhD that negatively impacted your research output, and you would like the review committee to consider it in the selection process. In well justified instances the eligibility based on the number of years past PhD may be extended beyond 5 years.)
• Excellence and strength of the research proposal
• Excellence of the applicant
• Leadership potential of the candidate, and/or community service
• Synergy between the proposed project and the chosen host location
• Mutual benefit of the fellowship project to NRAO and the applicant.

Important dates

Deadline for applications: All materials (except reference letters) must be received by 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Only full applications will be considered. Significant non-adherence to the document rules (maximum number of pages, font size, margin size, etc) may jeopardize the application; the applicants are requested to follow the instructions.

Deadline for Reference letters: 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.

Selection of the candidates will take place between November and December 2026. Interviews of short-listed candidates will be conducted virtually (Zoom) in January 2027. Award offers will be made by the end of January 2027. The nominal start of the fellowships is September 2027, but can begin at an earlier or later date (not later than January 2028).

Application documents

All applications must include a cover letter, statement addressing selection criteria, curriculum vitae with publication list, summary of previous and current research, and a research proposal combined in a single PDF file. Please use the 'Add Resume' button to upload the entire application file, including the cover letter, in a pdf format. There is no need to upload your cover letter separately. Instructions on how to submit reference letters are provided at the end of this posting. All applications and reference letters must be submitted electronically.

• Cover letter: Please specify your proposed NSF NRAO/GBO location or non-resident host institution, and your second-choice location, which must be an NSF NRAO/GBO site (Socorro, Charlottesville, or Green Bank). If you are applying for a split fellowship as your first choice, please indicate both the NRAO location and host institution where you propose to spend your fellowship, and the proposed fraction of time at each location. Please note that if you don’t provide a secondary choice for the fellowship appointment location, your application will be reviewed only for the single host of your choice. NSF NRAO is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), and applications will not be accepted for non-resident fellowships at other FFRDCs.
• Statement addressing selection criteria: Please explicitly address the selection criteria. If you are applying for a non-resident or split fellowship appointment, it is especially important to describe how you, NRAO, and the host institution will benefit from your appointment as a Jansky Fellow. The statement must be maximum of two (2) pages, formatted with 12 pt. font size and at least 0.75in margins.
  
  Top tips for writing a good statement:

1. Excellence of the research proposal and the candidate: Please summarize and highlight what makes your proposed research project strong and worth funding, and why you are the best person to deliver it.
2. Leadership potential of the candidate and/or community service: Academic work goes beyond solely conducting research, and often includes community service (such as reviewing articles submitted for publication, serving on organizing committees for conferences) or leadership activities (such as leading projects or a scientific team, supervising students). If you have experience in either of these, please provide details here. If you don't have hands-on experience in these areas, but your proposed research includes for example a leadership aspect, briefly indicate what that would be and how you would approach it to successfully execute it
3. Synergy between the proposed project and the chosen host: Explain why your chosen host location is the best place to carry out your proposed research.
4. Mutual benefit of the fellowship project to NRAO and the applicant: As a Jansky Fellow you will have a unique opportunity to experience how working at an astronomical observatory looks like, and to contribute to its success. Jansky Fellows do not have any functional observatory duties assigned; however, their work or tools they develop during the fellowship period may advance NRAO facilities, data delivery or science. If your proposed research project incorporates novel techniques in data processing, visualization, big data handling, algorithms, computing, instrumentation etc, please indicate it here when addressing the mutual benefit criterion.

Questions or assistance with the application procedure, as well as requests for additional information on the Jansky Fellowship Program may be sent to Jansky2027@nrao.edu.

To start an application, select the “Apply” button.

Total Rewards:

Compensation

The typical starting salary for a Jansky Fellow is $75,000. In addition, Jansky Fellows are allocated USD 17,000 per year for travel and other research expenses. Further USD 3,000 per year will be provided to non-NRAO hosts of the Fellows to defray local institutional expenses.

Benefits

Associated Universities, Inc (AUI) offers a comprehensive benefits package addressing the needs of employees and their families with most benefits beginning on the first day of employment, subject to eligibility requirements. AUI provides:

• Excellent paid time off (13 holidays, annual accrual of up to 24 vacation days)
• Medical, dental and vision plans are effective on the first day of employment.
• AUI’s retirement benefit contributes an amount equal to 10 percent of a qualified participant’s base pay with no required employee contribution.
• Click Total Rewards for more information.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement:

AUI is an equal opportunity employer. To view our complete statement, please visit https://public.nrao.edu/careers/. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, you may submit your request by sending an email to resumes@nrao.edu. PM20