The National Science Foundation is seeking qualified candidates for an Astronomer (Program Director) position for the Electromagnetic Spectrum Management Unit (ESMU) within the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST), Alexandria, VA. For more information on MPS please click here. For more information on AST please click here.

Duties

The objective of NSF's ESMU is to ensure access by the scientific community to portions of the radio spectrum that are needed for research purposes, especially for radio astronomy. The ESMU staff members accomplish this objective through spectrum management activities in domestic and international forums, by communicating with the science community about spectrum-related issues that impact scientific use of the radio spectrum, and through sponsoring and helping lead R&D activities in spectrum innovation. ESM activities at NSF have significant crossover with science policy in general. The candidate selected for this position will be directly responsible for leading NSF's efforts in the area of spectrum innovation. The candidate will assist in establishing an overall strategy for spectrum innovation within the NSF, setting NSF's positions on a wide range of spectrum-related research and development issues, and working within various internal, national and international committees to carry out that strategy. The successful candidate will also be responsible for making presentations at scientific conferences and to advisory bodies on spectrum-related issues, and will interface with government and private-sector spectrum-using entities to identify needs and opportunities. The successful candidate will work closely with other ESMU staff and will assist them with spectrum management activities. The successful candidate will also have program management responsibilities that may include soliciting grant proposals, interfacing with current and prospective Principal Investigators (PIs), organizing and running proposal review panels, making funding recommendations, and post award management.

Requirements

Qualifications

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in an appropriate field plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position. Appropriate fields include physics, astronomy, mathematics, geoscience, computer science, or electrical engineering. Excellent communication (verbal and written) skills are required, as is the ability to operate effectively in a complex environment with multiple governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. Prior experience with the interactions between radio technology and spectrum policy is highly desired.

Education

Please refer to the Qualifications section.

If your degree was obtained from a foreign institution, you must also submit the certification from the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, or certification equivalency.

Contacts

• Address NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, DIVISION OF ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES 2415 Eisenhower Ave Alexandria, VA 22314 US
• Name: Staffing and Classification Branch
• Email: [email protected]