Remote Proposal System development for the World Space Observatory - UV Observatory

Overview:

The World Space Observatory - Ultraviolet (WSO-UV) is an international space telescope that will be launched in 2023 to guarantee observational access in the ultraviolet (UV) range to astronomers after the end of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mission. The Spanish Science Operations Center (SOC) will be in Madrid, hosted by the Joint Center for Ultraviolet Astronomy (JCUVA) at Universidad Complutense of Madrid.

The WSO-UV is a 170 cm primary space telescope, equipped with instrumentation for imaging and ultraviolet spectroscopy. The mission is run by an international consortium led by Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS, with an important Spanish participation. Spain contributes to this project in three areas: instrumentation (providing the detectors for one of the instruments on board, the Field Camera Unit), Ground Segment (implementing the Science Control Center, SOC) and preparing the scientific observing program.

An important part of the Spanish contribution is the provision of the Remote Proposal System (RPS). This is a SOC software system in charge of collecting the observing proposals as submitted by the astronomical community. These proposals are created by the astronomers using a web interface that allows collecting the necessary proposals data, running a preliminary validation before the final submission to the SOC. The received proposals will be stored and processed by the remaining systems of the SOC once the gathering process has been completed.

The RPS will run as a web interface over Apache and Linux. The RPS will provide the required forms to the user for proper definition of a WSO-UV observing proposal. Some client side checks will be performed for assuring the coherence of the entered data before submission. The RPS will also provide facilities for uploading a pdf proposal justification file and displaying the form data as pdf document before triggering the SOC submission process. Once this submission takes place, an acknowledge email will be sent to the user, and the submitted data will be stored in the SOC server.

Candidate Profile:

The successful candidate will develop and maintain the RPS, and integrate it into the remaining SOC systems. This requires developing, testing, verifying, and commissioning the software using the SOC software development standards. Proper documentation will be generated along the whole development process.

The successful applicant must have a university degree in computer science, physics, mathematics or related areas. Experience with development of astronomy or observatory applications is preferred, ideally in the field of web interfaces and their integration with RDBMS systems. The applicant, in particular, will have experience and proficiency in:

- Following standards for software development (ideally, ECSS).

- Using Configuration Control tools, preferably Git.

- Using Python/C/Shell scripting under Linux.

- Installing and Supporting Apache web servers under Linux. - Databases administration knowledge.

Good English skills are essential. Knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Position:

The successful candidate will work in the framework of the Project “Participacio´n Espan~ola en el World Space Observatory-Ultraviolet 2018-2020”, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, PI Ana Ines Gomez de Castro. The yearly gross salary will be in the range 18000 - 20000 euros, final salary depending on candidate profile and experience. The duration of the contract will be for a period of one year, yearly renewable.

Contact:

Candidates should send a detailed curriculum vitae and cover letter explaining their interest to the e-mail address sec.aegora@ucm.es, quoting reference “VN 2017/01 RPS position”. Consideration of applications will begin in October 1st 2017, and will continue until the position is filled. Contract starting date will be January 1st 2018.