Research Technician

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Job Summary

IPAC at Caltech has an opening for a Research Technician position to work with scientists on investigating variations of the dust extinction curve in very dense Galactic star-forming environments. This is a 9-month term job position with an expected start date of September 2026.

IPAC, part of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech (www.caltech.edu), provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to maximize discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground.

As an IPAC Research Technician, you will analyze spectroscopic data from the JWST NIRSPec Multi-Shatter Array (MSA) instrument towards 3 Galactic molecular cores at different evolutionary stages (i.e., pre-stellar, collapsing and star forming); you will correct each observed spectrum for the contribution of stellar photospheres; and they will model the residual signal (i.e., the extinction curve) using state-of-the-art dust models.

Essential Job Duties

You will work with scientist Dr. Roberta Paladini on the following tasks related to the investigation of variations of dust extinction in the dense interstellar medium:

• Downloading and validating the NIRSPec spectroscopic data produced by the JWST standard reduction pipeline;
• Correcting each observed spectrum for the stellar photosphere contribution;
• Fitting the residual signal - the dust extinction curve - with a 1-component and a 2-component power-law;
• Modeling the extinction curve derived for each line of sight using state-of-the-art dust models with the goal of estimating the grain size distribution;
• Aggregating the results for all the lines of sight towards a given molecular cores and providing a statistical interpretation.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Astronomy, Physics, or a related field
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant research or technical experience
• Experience working in collaborative or distributed research environments

Preferred Qualifications

Beyond these basic qualifications, there are skills and experiences which will give you a head start here. If you have experience in a few of these areas, you will hit the ground running, but even if these don't yet describe you and your experience, we would still like to hear from you:

• PhD in Astronomy, Physics, or a related field
• 2+ years of research experience post-PhD in astronomy or astrophysics
• Familiarity with spectroscopic data and JWST
• Proficiency with python

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Names and Contact information of 3 professional references

Life at IPAC

People choose to work at IPAC for many reasons, and our casual, employee-centric culture often leads to fulfilling, long-term careers and positive relationships. Whether in science, engineering, or administration, IPAC staff share a unique sense of pride in knowing their individual talents support human discovery.

Unlike traditional corporate tech, IPAC emphasizes sustainable workloads and a healthy work-life balance: after-hours work is rare, shared across the operations team, and typically limited to exceptional situations. We actively support ongoing professional development, including training, conferences, and skill development aligned with your career goals. Caltech's benefits program offers a highly competitive benefits package, an exceptional 403(b) defined contribution plan, and access to campus facilities including the athletic center, libraries, on-site daycare, and Athenaeum club membership.