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Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and a staff of more than 4000, of which 400 are professors. Our campus is located in the Helsinki metropolitan area in Finland.
Aalto Small Satellite research group is looking for a
POSTDOC / RESEARCH FELLOW WITH SMALL SATELLITE AND CUBESAT TECHNOLOGY EXPERTISE
We invite you to join the top university team in Finland which has launched the first Finnish satellites and spun off new companies, including the world leading miniature SAR satellite technology company ICEYE. Currently, we build the first Finnish Foresail science missions in the framework of Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space. We operate in close collaboration with a fleet of partners in our dynamic innovation ecosystem and keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with small satellites and microwave remote sensing. We develop and build entire CubeSat platforms for LEO and high radiation environment in GTO. The spacecraft are developed to characterize the near-Earth and deep-space plasma and radiation environment, as well as to test new propulsion technologies – the electric solar wind sail and plasma brake, We also work with ESA missions, such as Daedalus and Comet Interceptor (OPIC and EnVisS instruments).
Job description
You are going to participate and take leadership in space technology development projects related to scientific CubeSat missions, small satellite platforms and payloads, mission feasibility studies, as well as building and testing flight hardware and software. The work is carried out in close collaboration with various companies and institutes in Finland and abroad (e.g., Finnish Meteorological Institute and UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory). You will write scientific papers jointly with the other members in the group and publish actively in conferences and journals. In this position, you have excellent opportunities to extend your professional network and to improve your pedagogical skills by participating in teaching and by supervising of masters and doctoral students. Self initiatives are highly appreciated in our versatile team.
As part of the team, you will participate in
· The development, testing and integration of satellite subsystems, platforms and payloads;
· Building hardware prototypes, flight hardware and software for small spacecrafts;
· Research and development of novel spacecraft design concepts and instruments;
· Collaboration with various national and international organizations on ongoing and future space research projects;
· Technical documentation and research publications;
· Teaching and supervision of masters and doctoral candidates.
Research group
The work is carried out in the Small Satellites Group, lead by Professor Jaan Praks. The group has already launched two satellite missions and currently working on four new CubeSat missions (FORESAIL-1, FORESAIL-2, KvarkenSat) and two ESA missions (Daedalus and Comet Interceptor). The group has a strong heritage in CubeSat platform development, platform reliability and satellite mission operations. The active and open-minded multinational team is composed of over 15 researchers and engineers. It is well connected and well secured with funding. The university provides well-equipped modern work environment at the heart of the most active technology campus area in Finland.
Your experience and ambitions
As a researcher, you have a strong motivation to actively participate in the research team’s activities in space technology, instrumentation and remote sensing projects. In addition to a proven track record in scientific work and a relevant PhD degree, you have experience in working with CubeSat or small satellite technology. Beneficial is if you have some of the following: skills in electronics, experience in space hardware development, experience in reliability engineering, knowledge of radiation hardening, overall experience in software development, image processing and computer vision, and/or experience in magnetometer payloads and magnetic cleanliness.
In order to be successful in this role, you have
· PhD in Electrical Engineering, Space technology, Physics, Computer science/engineering or equivalent;
· Familiarity with existing standards on system level design of space systems and small satellites;
· Experience in hardware design including schematics, layout and PCB;
· Experience in embedded hardware and software development flow and associated tools;
· Familiarity with hardware and software co-design techniques, fault tolerance and radiation hardness;
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Salary and contract terms
The position will be initially filled for 2-4 years. The expected starting salary for a Postdoctoral Researcher is 3500–3800 €/month and for a Research Fellow approximately 4000€/month, both depending on experience and qualifications. As an employer, Aalto University provides excellent learning and development opportunities as well as extensive occupational health care services, commuter ticket benefit and versatile exercise services by Unisport. We would prefer your start during the autumn of 2020, yet this can also be negotiated.
Ready to apply?
Please submit your application through our recruiting system by using the “Apply now!” link below. Include the following documents in English: 1) motivation letter, 2) CV indicating your skills and experience applicable to the position, including your teaching experience, 3) the list of publications (with the five most significant publications highlighted), 4) research statement, 5) references (names and contact information). The call is open until 15 May, 2020, but we will start reviewing and interviewing candidates immediately. Applications will be considered until the position is filled.
More information
For additional information, please contact Professor Jaan Praks, jaan.praks(at)aalto.fi, or in recruitment process related questions HR Coordinator Annika Salmelin, annika.salmelin(at)aalto.fi.
About Finland
Aalto University is an international community, 40% of our academic staff is international. Finland is a great place for living with or without family – it is a safe, politically stable and well organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was just listed as the happiest country in the world: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/social-environments-for-world-happiness/. For more information about living in Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/services/about-finland
