The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen is one of the world's leading research institutions in the field of solar physics and planetary research with around 300 employees. The interdisciplinary research focus is the investigation of the development, diversity and dynamics of planets, moons, small bodies, the sun and solar-like stars. The MPS develops and operates scientific instruments for current and future space missions (e.g. ESA, NASA), and carries out cosmochemical laboratory investigations of meteorites as well as numerical modeling on state-of-the-art supercomputers.

The Solar and Stellar Interiors department at the MPS is offering a position for a Scientific Software Developer (f/m/d) to work in the PLATO Data Center (PDC).

PLATO is a space mission of ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program and aims at detecting earth-like planets around solar-like stars. PLATO will be launched in late 2026. It will use 26 cameras, each with four CCDs, to observe FGK dwarf and sub-giant stars in a wide field of view. The PLATO Data Center (PDC) is part of the PLATO mission's science ground segment. The goal of the PDC is to process this multi-camera information to detect and characterize exoplanets and also to characterize their host stars. At the MPS you will be part of a professional team working on multiple projects of the PDC. Regardless of their previous background, we are seeking an individual with a strong desire to commit to the mission's success and learn new skills. We follow the scrum approach as our agile team collaboration framework and adhere to clean-code principles and test-driven methodologies. Candidates wishing to gain expertise in these valuable skills are warmly encouraged to apply.

Your tasks

• Implementation of data processing software and associated automated tests for the PDC
• Depending on the profile of the candidate, implementation of frontend components
• Participation in the design of the system and software architectures
• Implementation of automated tests on the unit, module, integration and acceptance level as well as performance testing
• Optimization of data processing code in close collaboration with the science team
• Contribution to technical documentation in compliance with the applicable standards
• Participation in local or remote project meetings when required, this will require travel within Europe

Your qualification

• Strongly interested in working on a long-term space project
• Ph.D. or M.Sc. in physics, astrophysics, geophysics, applied mathematics, scientific computing, or computer science
• Experience in working with scientific code, data analysis, optics, or space research would be a plus
• Experience in Python and/or C/C ++ languages
• Experience in writing unit, integration and acceptance tests
• Experience with the following would be beneficial
  • partaking in a continuous integration workflow as well as working as part of a SCRUM team,
  • implementing web services in Python using frameworks like FastAPI,
  • either Angular, React or Vue,
  • working on relational databases, preferably postgreSQL.
• Good command of the English Language

Additional information