Are you a software engineer who dreams of exploring the stars? Do you want to aid in research into faraway galaxies, and share the research data with the world? Are you looking for meaning and purpose in your work, then join us in our quest to understand the universe and make discoveries in radio astronomy happen!

We are ASTRON, and we make discoveries in radio astronomy happen via the development of novel and innovative technologies, the operation of world-class radio astronomy facilities — such as LOFAR — and the pursuit of fundamental astronomical research.

For the development of the Science Data Center (SDC) we are looking for a software engineer to strengthen one of our teams. The SDC is an initiative to maximize the scientific impact of our world-leading instrumentation portfolio by making data products and analysis tools available to scientists in the most effective ways. The SDC will provide services including hosting and distribution of petabyte-scale data archives from cutting-edge instrumentation, bulk, and interactive data processing capabilities, and supporting services for the community to form collaborations, request resources and execute scientific observing and data analysis programs. The SDC system encompasses federated storage and compute infrastructure distributed over Europe, and a suite of services, tools, and databases that are developed in collaboration with the astronomical community and our national and international partners.

The team you join consists of software engineers with skills ranging from front-end development to back-end development to scientific development. Next to that, the group is supported by a scrum master and a program manager to make sure the work is prioritized effectively for the program increment. The team works together in a SAFe-like manner on a diverse set of work. They communicate directly (in-person, through Slack, and in the documentation) with each other to develop and maintain implementations. The team regularly gets together at our headquarters to be in meetings, work together, or play some foosball.

We are looking for a software engineer who:

• Has at least a couple of years of experience working full-stack while being part of a scrum team.
• Has great knowledge of Python (Django back-end experience is a bonus).
• Has great knowledge of JavaScript front-end development (ReactJS experience is a bonus).
• Is strong in OO-programming, unit testing, design patterns, and SOLID principles.
• Has experience in applying principles from XP, DevOps, and Agile.
• Has experience with continuous integration and delivery tooling.
• Has experience with HTML/CSS is a bonus.
• Has experience working in SAFe-like structures is a bonus.

Do note; just because you don’t tick all the boxes it doesn't mean we're not interested. You are welcome for an interview and are invited to convince us!

Additional information

More information about ASTRON can be found on www.astron.nl and www.jobsatastron.nl. For more information about the vacancy please contact Henriëtte Orsel, Coördinator HR, phone: +31 521 595 100 or e-mail: [email protected].

How to apply

You can apply for this job by sending your letter and curriculum vitae to ASTRON via the button below. The first closing date is 01 May 2022. 

Internal and external recruiting will be executed in parallel. Internal candidates have priority in the procedure. Candidates will be considered until the position has been filled.

Acquisition based on this vacancy is not appreciated.