ATA Postdoctoral Associate 

The SETI Institute (www.seti.org) seeks an EE, EECS, CS, Physics, or Astronomy Postdoctoral Associate to be resident at the Institute in Mountain View, California for a negotiable period of one to three years to study the characteristics of the interstellar radio channel in conjunction with broadband signals and array antenna processing in a NASA-supported project. The goal is to expand the repertoire of signals that are searched using the new Allen Telescope Array (www.seti.org/seti/projects/ata/). 

The past 35 years of SETI has been based on mono antennas, spectral analysis, and the assumption of narrowband signals. Based on developments in earthbound and space communications over that period, it is promising to broaden the search to include array antenna processing in conjunction with broadband signals.

However, this requires matched filtering, deeper assumptions about signal modeling, searching over signal sequences and time-frequency scaling parameters, and there are interesting tradeoffs against array processing strategies at both transmitter and receiver. Thus, there are many interesting questions to be explored.

Solutions may incorporate knowledge of digital communications signal processing, signal design, antenna array processing, search strategies, interstellar radio propagation, pulsar detection, Doppler effects, and nonparametric statistics.

 Job Responsibilities include working in collaboration with scientific and engineering staff at the SETI Institute and UC Berkeley EECS Department to analyze optimal broadband transmission and reception strategies and to implement the most promising detection strategies on  the Allen Telescope Array at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Northern California. (http://www.seti.org/seti/projects/ata/). 

 Travel to the Observatory site for installation and debugging will be necessary in later stages of this project as will remote observing from Mountain View for troubleshooting and performance evaluations.

We recognize that many highly qualified candidates will lack portions of this broad subject matter, and there is the opportunity to collaborate with local experts in all these areas at the SETI Institute and local universities including Berkeley and Stanford. United States citizenship or permanent residency required. Please communicate your interest and qualifications by referencing the following contact information.

Application deadline: Open until filled
The SETI Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Apply online now

The subject field of your email must include “ATA Postdoc”
Or fax to: 650-961-7099

To apply by mail, send your resume and cover letter to:

SETI Institute
Attention: Human Resources
515 Whisman Road
Mountain View, CA 94043