At ASTRON, we provide an environment where you collaborate with experts from diverse fields, fostering a culture of mutual support. Our inspirational atmosphere offers the perfect playground for innovation, where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive and grow. 

Moreover, at ASTRON we constantly push the boundaries of what is technologically possible to make discoveries in radio astronomy happen. We are constantly at the forefront of innovation, driving advancements that benefit the industry and society as a whole. 

Committed to decreasing our organizational footprint, we explore circular and green computing solutions in partnership with others. Furthermore, we are dedicated to increasing staff diversity and creating a safe and inclusive workplace, we are especially interested in applications from women and underrepresented groups. 

On top of that, the ASTRON premises are situated in a fantastic area in the middle of a beautiful Natural Park. We are surrounded by stunning scenery, which makes the lunch walks we have feel like a vacation and where we often have hares and deer grazing around the building. 

Unleash your potential

Play a vital role in our LOFAR development program. LOFAR is a big, modern radio telescope with more than 50 antenna fields located in many European countries but centrally concentrated in the northern Netherlands and its central processing facility in the Netherlands. LOFAR provides petabyte-scale amounts of data, and the number of devices it encompasses is within the hundred-thousands. As a dedicated and passionate software engineer, you will contribute to the development of LOFAR within our dynamic SCRUM team. 

Calling all talented software engineers who:

• Have some experience as a backend engineer on Python-based software for a Linux environment, used in a production environment. 
• Have some experience with relational and/ or time-series database technologies (such as PostgreSQL or Prometheus) 
• Have some experience with Docker/ Docker-compose. 
• Would like to use contemporary development principles such as (but not limited to) XP, CI/CD, DevOps, Agile/Scrum, and design patterns. 
• Prefer to work in a team and connect to colleagues outside your own functional area 
• Have the drive to develop him/herself and grow within our organization. 

Fixed-term contract: 1 year with a possible extension based on good performance.

What you can expect from us:

• An inspiring, innovative, and pleasant working environment with an international and inclusive work culture.  
• Opportunities and encouragement to grow and develop yourself and your career.  
• The exceptional combination of astronomy, operations and engineering in one building.  
• Employment conditions tailored to your needs (part-time appointment, parental leave, working from home, etc.).  
• A temporary appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for a duration of 1 year (with a possible extension based on good performance).   
• A gross monthly salary in the range of €3019 to € 4789 (full-time salary), based on relevant experience, an 8% holiday allowance and a 8.33% year-end bonus.
• A comprehensive and solid pension scheme (ABP).
• 42 vacation days per year on a full-time basis.  
• Ambitious colleagues who are driven by collaboration in an international work environment. 

We strongly believe that progress, creativity and innovation is only possible in an inclusive environment, and therefore we value the unique skills and qualities you bring to the table. While we appreciate a range of software engineering expertise, please note that not ticking all the boxes does not diminish our interest in your application. Therefore, we warmly welcome everyone and in particular women and individuals from underrepresented groups to apply for an interview.

To discover firsthand experiences of colleagues who love working at ASTRON click this link.  

Collaboration at our office sparks some of the best ideas and solutions to complex problems. Therefore, we work at least 60% of our time at ASTRON.  

For more information about this vacancy please contact Tom Kamphuis via kamphuis@astron.nl .