Applications Programmer 3

APPLICATIONS PROGR 3 (007300)

UCPath Position ID: TBD_189796

Position Description History/Status

Approved Date:

10/16/2025 11:14:15 PM

Date Last Edited:

10/16/2025 11:14:11 PM

Last Action Effective Date:

Organization Details

Business Unit (Location):

LACMP

Organization Code:

1300O

Organization:

LETTERS AND SCIENCE

Division Code:

1340D

Division:

L&S PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Department:

099500 - EARTH, PLANETARY, AND SPACE SCIENCES

Position Details

UCPath Position Number:

TBD_189796

Position Description ID

245022

UC Payroll Title:

APPLICATIONS PROGR 3 (007300)

Personnel Program

Professional and Support Staff (PSS)

Salary Grade:

Grade 22

Job Code FLSA:

Exempt

Union Code (Collective Bargaining Unit):

99: Non-Represented (PPSM)

Employee Relations Code:

E: All Others - Not Confidential

Employee Class (Appt Type):

1 - Staff: Contract

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

1

SUPERVISION

UCPath Reports to Position Number:

40037586

Reports to Payroll Title:

Professor

UCPath Department Head Position Number:

40059547

Department Head Payroll Title:

Department Chair

GENERAL SUPERVISION - Indicates that the incumbent develops procedures for performance of variety of duties; or performs complex duties within established policy guidelines.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Thermal Modeling Programmer provides thermal modeling support for asteroids and other potentially hazardous objects to Earth detected by the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission.  During the Mission Implementation Phase (CD) before launch, the incumbent works with the PI, survey scientists, and project partner institutions to develop, implement, test, and verify survey operation tools that will be used to solve for diameters and related physical properties, including estimated errors, of NEOs identified as potentially hazardous to Earth.  After launch and during mission operations the programmer will utilize the developed and mature thermal modeling tools to calculate diameters, albedos and other physical properties of objects detected by NEO Surveyor.  Programmer will also prepare physical property fits for archiving in NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS).  The programmer has demonstrated expertise with Python and a working fluency with other programming languages including C, C++ and FORTRAN.  Incumbent develops and troubleshoots analysis tools alongside personnel at UCLA and NEO Surveyor partner institutions JPL, Caltech/IPAC, SDL, LASP and BAE Systems.

Thermophysical modeling of existing asteroid data is used to determine rotation poles, thermal inertias, flux densities as a function of wavelength, and other properties to increase the number of calibrator objects available.  Models are iteratively updated and their fidelity increased as more calibrator data become available.  They are iteratively tested to ensure the survey operations will meet Level 1 and all other survey requirements. 

A diverse breadth of experience with numerical modeling and observational data reduction of large data sets is required.

Welcome to the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences (EPSS) at UCLA. Our mission is to understand Earth and our surrounding solar system, as well as extrasolar planets and the star systems that host them. EPSS continues to provide new insights about the processes that formed our universe and that continue to shape its evolution. Our department is committed to advancing rigorous scientific discovery, multimodal education, and impactful STEAM outreach. We are proud to have a department culture based on respect, collaboration, and openness to new ideas and methodologies.

Planning & development

1.  Work independently and collaboratively with team members to design, implement, deploy, test, and verify software modeling tools for calculating size, thermal inertia, albedo, surface roughness, flux densities, thermal lightcurves and other parameters of asteroids and other objects of interest identified by NEO Surveyor.

2.  Develop mission-specific analysis software “plug-ins” and ensure code is properly tested, documented, and interfaced.

3.  Develop and implement specialized processing and analysis tasks for assisting PI and survey scientists in preparing reports and papers.

70%

Software tool engineering and management

1. Continuously improve upon all thermal modeling tools to increase their accuracy, precision, and overall effectiveness toward meeting survey goals.

2.  Lead in management and maintenance of the NEO Surveyor high-performance computer cluster at UCLA.

3.  Assist with development and deployment of software tools across multiple computing environments: (1) multi-node machines for statistical studies, data mining, machine-learning or big-data processing; (2) all operating systems across departments and institutes, generating dynamically linked libraries for those systems; (3) centralized servers for web-interfaced public data analysis.

4.  Implement software development respecting data integrity, secure access to remote sites, password protection, backwards compatibility, recoverability, quality assurance, and version control.

30%

•

Performs other duties as assigned.

•

Complies with all policies and standards.

•

Complies with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Principles of Community.

•

This position description is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties or skills required for the job and is subject to review and change at any time, with or without notice, in accordance with the needs of the organization.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's Degree

in physics, astronomy, geology, earth/planetary science, computer science or data science, or relevant experience.

Required

Master's Degree

in physics, astronomy, geology, earth/planetary science, computer science or data science, or relevant experience.

Preferred

4+ years

Programming experience in Python, C, C++.  Working proficiency in Postgres.

Required

2+ years

Programming experience in physical science discipline (physics, astronomy, geology, earth and/or planetary science)

Required

1. Detailed knowledge of Python programming language.

Required

2. Working knowledge of C, C++ programming language

Required

3. Working proficiency with PostgreSQL (a.k.a. Postgres) databases.

Required

4. Working proficiency in Rust programming language

Preferred

5. Working knowledge of Microsoft Windows, Unix, and Mac operating systems, including Microsoft Office Word and Excel.

Required

6. Ability to work independently to solve complex programming problems.

Required

7. Ability to work in a team environment and also independently with frequent distractions and interruptions.

Required

8. Skill in oral and written communication to effectively interact and communicate technical information with all levels of organization on an individual basis and in a group setting.

Required

9. Working knowledge of astronomy, planetary science, orbital dynamics, mathematical concepts (e.g., coordinate transformations, methods for interpolation).

Required

10. Ability to manipulate very large data sets. 

Required

11. Working knowledge of system engineering and mission operations.

Preferred

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND/OR CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Background Check: Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation.

E-Verify Check: The position is funded by federal contracts/subcontracts requiring UCLA to notify job applicants that an E-Verify check will be conducted and the successful candidate(s) must pass the E-Verify check.

10%

Minimal travel to mission partner organizations, e.g. Space Dynamics Laboratory (Logan, UT) or Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (Boulder, CO).  Occasional visits to JPL and Caltech/IPAC likely.

LOCATION AND PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, MENTAL (PEM) REQUIREMENTS

Environment and Work Location Information

Environment Type:

Non-Clinical Setting

Location Setting:

Campus

Location:

Geology Building

Standing/Walking

X

Sitting

X

Bending/Stooping

X

Squatting/Kneeling

X

Climbing

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull 0-25 lbs

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull 26-50 lbs

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull over 50 lbs

X

Physical requirements other

X

Chemicals, dust, gases, or fumes

X

Loud noise levels

X

Marked changes in humidity or temperature

X

Microwave/Radiation

X

Operating motor vehicles and/or equipment

X

Exposures other

X

Sustained attention and concentration

X

X

Complex problem solving/reasoning

X

X

Ability to organize & prioritize

X

X

Communication skills

X

X

Numerical Skills

X

X

Mental demands other

X

X

Other Mental Requirements

If "Mental demands other" was selected above, please explain:

X

Classification 3:  Position in which exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues is not part of the position description. The normal routine task involves no exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues and the employee can decline to perform tasks which involve a perceived risk without retribution.