Head of The Alma Department of Science Operations

**_ALMA Vacancy Notice_**

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is the world’s preeminent facility for millimeter and submillimeter-wave astronomy with transformational capabilities to study the origin of galaxies, stars, and planets. ALMA consists of 66 antennas located on the Chajnantor plateau, 5000 meters altitude in northern Chile, and equipped with receivers covering atmospheric windows between 30 and 950 GHz.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). ALMA continued development and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia.

The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the continued development, enhancement, and operation of ALMA.

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**_Head of the ALMA _**
**_Department of Science Operations _**
**_(DSO)_**

The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) is seeking an experienced senior science manager to lead its Department of Science Operations, which is responsible for the science operations of the international ALMA radio astronomy observatory in Chile. This is an outstanding opportunity to lead the scientific operations of the most ambitious ground-based observatory operational in the world today.

The Head of the ALMA Department of Science Operations (DSO) is responsible for the management and leadership of the scientific program from data acquisition to data delivery, observatory calibration, and improvements to overall performance of the observatory. The Head of DSO is expected to manage, directly or indirectly, a team of approximately 40 staff members grouped in four teams.

The Head of DSO will report to the ALMA Deputy Director of Operations and will be a member of the JAO’s Core Management Team where it is expected that he/she/they will make key contributions to the strategic planning, policy development and implementation, diversity and inclusion initiatives as well as the overall decision-making at the JAO, ensuring the adoption within DSO staff. The Head of DSO will closely collaborate with both Computing and Engineering Heads of Department and will participate in the Joint Operations Team at JAO.

The Head of DSO also plays a critical role outside the JAO as well by coordinating a team of science operations managers from the ALMA regions. The Head of DSO will, in coordination with the Directorship and the Observatory Scientist, interact with the user community and various agencies regarding ALMA’s performance and future.

The ALMA observatory is fully operational, with all 66 antennas dedicated to science. The operation of the array requires careful attention, coordination and consultation on the part of the Head of DSO within the JAO and the Executives (ESO, AUI/NRAO, NAOJ). ALMA also has a dedicated development line which will continue to provide new capabilities and instrumentation to keep its position as a cutting edge astronomical facility. The Head of DSO is central in assessing the potential consequences of any proposed development idea on ALMA operations and will help plan the Science Operations portion of the integration and commissioning plan for any approved ALMA Development projects. This includes planning for the ALMA Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade as part of the ALMA 2030 Roadmap.

**_ Responsibilities _**
- Leading the team responsible for science operations outcomes, science program optimization, data quality assurance and monitoring, and associated budget and staffing.
- Delivering all JAO science operations outcomes, including:

- Collection, processing and delivery of scientific data;
- Observation queue and potential modifications to the required configuration schedule;
- Commissioning and validation of upgrades of the array;
- Up-to-date Quality Control of the scientific and calibration data;
- Identification of opportunities to improve the scientific performance of the array;
- Execution, maintenance and update of the Observatory Calibration Plan.
- Leading a high performance and diverse team and keep it highly engaged through the implementation of policies and best practices in people management, including professional development and training of DSO staff. Empower the managers and supervi