JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Associate Professor, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
1.

Job Title: Associate Professor, one position

2.

Division and Location: Astronomy Data Center, Mitaka (Japan)

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Area of Expertise: Archive and Database Astronomy and/or related fields

Job Description:
The Astronomy Data Center (ADC) is one of three Centers in the National Astronomical Observatoryof Japan (NAOJ), oversees the production of astronomical data archives in NAOJ, and provides dataservices to the astronomy community. As to data archiving services, ADC archives astronomical dataacquired not only by NAOJ facilities but also by observatories operated by several universities in Japan.
In addition, ADC adds quality-related information to the data by calibrating and analyzing the lowerlevel data. These archived data are made available to the public through various search services andvisualization tools. ADC, as an NAOJ’s central facility for data archiving and utilizing optical, infrared
and radio observation data, plans to enhance its data services and further promote the scientific use ofarchived data.
We therefore invite applications for the position of an Associate Professor in ADC. A successful
candidate for this position is expected to: 1) lead the operation and maintenance of currently operating
data archive systems for the optical and infrared telescopes, 2) contribute to the integration of thesearchive systems above, 3) contribute to the replacement planned of the computing systems andinfrastructure for the data archives, scheduled for 2023, 4) pursue and promote own scientific researchusing the archived data, and 5) contribute to the planning and design of multi-wavelength sciencearchives that further integrate the optical and infrared data archive and the radio data archive.
4.

Minimum Academic Requirements and Qualifications:Ph.D. or equivalent in astronomy or related fields is required. To fulfill the responsibilities in section
4, the following experience and abilities are required, along with a strong motivation to improve thescience data archives not only for one’s own research but also for the astronomy community.
(1) In-depth knowledge and experience of the world’s astronomical data archiving systems as a user,(2) experience in the development and operation of at least one astronomical data archiving system,(3) experience in the development and operation of telescopes and astronomical observing instrumentsthat generate scientific data to be archived,(4) in-depth knowledge of databases required for astronomical data archiving systems,(5) leadership that can organize and manage a small group of people, and(6) ability to communicate in English and Japanese.
5.

Terms of Appointment:
The successful candidate should be able to start as soon as reasonably possible after the job offer has
been accepted. The term of contract is up to the end of the Japanese academic year in which the faculty
reaches NAOJ’s mandatory retirement age of 65. The probation period of six months is included.
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(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

8.

Required Application Materials: (*To be prepared in English. Any other language will not be
accepted)
A cover letter,
A curriculum vitae,
Publication list (Separate refereed and non-refereed papers. List patents too. SPIE and COSPAR
can be included in refereed papers.),
A summary of your past research activities,
Your commitment and plan to fulfill the duties,
Your address (e-mail and phone) for prompt contact and e-mail address of your current supervisor
or line manager,
Three or more reference letters. Reference letters should be written by faculty/staff with tenured positions.
Reference letters from multiple countries are preferred. Please ask your references to upload the letters
directly to an NAOJ’s application system shown in 9 before the deadline. Applicants are responsible for
ensuring that the letters are submitted before the application deadline.
Application Deadline: 2022-04-22, 12:00 (Japan Standard Time)

Submission:
Applicants are required to apply via the NAOJ Nextcloud on the web. Please access the application
form at the following URL:
https://forms.office.com/r/eV3fyMgAy2
After you submit the initial form, you will receive an email showing the URLs for (a) uploading yourapplication documents, and (b) for your reference letters.
Once you get the URL(a) for your application documents, please upload the files corresponding to thedocuments (1) through (6) stated in 7. These files must be in PDF format (max 50MB each, 100MB in
total, at most 10 files).
Please ask your references to upload their letters via the URL(b) you receive for this purpose.
9.

For inquiries, please contact with a subject; “Question on Associate Professor of ADC”
E-mail: george.kosugi_AT_nao.ac.jp (replace _AT_ with @)Dr. George Kosugi, Director of ADC, NAOJ
If you have any question related to the application process or other items,
please contact with a subject; “Question on Associate Professor of ADC”
E-mail: apply-ADC-assocprof20220422_AT_nao.ac.jp (replace _AT_ with @)10. Labor Conditions:(1) Work Type and Work Hours:
The Discretionary Labor System for Professional Work shall be applied.
(Standard work hours: 38.75 hrs/week, from 8:30 to 17:15 with an hour intermission)(2) Holidays:
Saturdays and Sundays, National Holidays, New Year holidays (December 29th - January 3rd),
Annual paid leave (20days: to be prorated for the first year), Summer holidays (3 days)(3) Social Insurances:
MEXT Mutual Aid Association (health insurance), Employees' Pension Insurance, Employment
Insurance, Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance

(4) Remuneration:
Salary: The amount of an annual salary shall be determined based on the school career and job
experiences in accordance with the NINS regulations (NINS, or the National Institutes of NaturalSciences, is an executive institute that manages NAOJ). The payment will be made monthly in 12equivalents.
Allowances: Dependent allowance, residential allowance, commutation allowance, and the otherallowances will be paid when the requirements based on the NINS regulations are all filled. The
equivalent of the term-end allowance and the diligence allowance shall be included in the annualsalary.
Salary Increase: Once a year in accordance with the performance evaluation
Retirement Allowance: Shall be paid
11. Remarks:•Candidates selected in the final short list may be interviewed by the selection committee either
via the internet or face-to-face. The expense for the interview will not be covered by NAOJ.
•If the selection committee deems that there is no qualified candidate for this position, it is possible
no one will be selected.
•NINS Employee Regulations shall be applied to this position.
•Smoking is prohibited on the premises excluding designated outdoor smoking areas.
•Policy for Equal Employment Opportunity: Abiding by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act
for Men and Women, NAOJ is committed to the realization of a society with gender equality.
- If two candidates are deemed equal in their performance evaluation, NAOJ will take positive
action to employ women.
- If you have taken a leave(s) such as for maternity, child care, and/or family care, please indicate
it in your curriculum vitae. We will consider it when assessing your performance.
For further information about NAOJ's efforts to achieve gender equal society, see
https://www2.nao.ac.jp/~open-info/gender-equality/en/•Information submitted in your application documents will not be used for any purpose other than
the selection process and for contacting you with necessary notices in connection with theselection. Once the selection process is complete, we will securely dispose of all application
documents and personal information, except for those submitted by the successful candidate.
12. Name of recruiterInter-University Research Institute Corporation, National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS),
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)