I. NAOJ Staff and Visiting Research Collaborators
The NAOJ workforce is made up of staff and collaborators. Staff are engaged under an employment contract with NAOJ, while collaborators are not bound to such employment relationship. NAOJ staff include Research and Academic Staff, who are engaged in research activities, as well as Engineering Staff and Administrative Staff.
1. NAOJ Staff
(A) Research and Academic Staff
Research and Academic Staff are engaged in research activities related to astronomy. Their scope of work involves a wide range of job duties and tasks including promotion of their personal research; management of projects; development and operation of large telescopes/observation instruments; and public relations activities based on their expertise. Staff belonging to this category are called Research and Academic Staff because of their integrated roles in both research and education. NAOJ forms the core of the Department of Astronomical Sciences of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), and Research and Academic Staff who take the position of a professor or an associate professor serve as academic supervisors for graduate students studying astronomy at SOKENDAI or other universities.
Research and Academic Staff are employed on either a permanent or a fixed-term contract. In many cases, they are recruited from academic-degree holders in astronomy or related fields through open calls for application. However, there is another recruitment system using an internal procedure, whereby a host researcher at NAOJ makes an application in accordance with relevant NAOJ rules, and a subsequent evaluation process determines whether the candidate should be invited.
For details about the recruitment systems and programs for Research and Academic Staff, see section II “Recruitment Systems and Programs for Research and Academic Staff” below.
(B) Engineering Staff
Engineering Staff support the research activities at NAOJ based on their technical expertise. Their scope of work includes maintenance of large telescopes; design and development of observation instruments/software; and maintenance/operation of network infrastructures.
They are employed on either a permanent or a fixed-term contract. In either case, they are recruited through open calls for application.
(C) Administrative Staff
Administrative Staff are engaged in a broad range of duties and tasks to support research activities and organization management. Their scope of work includes organizing conferences; management of personnel and salary administration; support for research and graduate school education; promotion of internationalization; financial management; procurement of supplies and equipment; and management/maintenance of buildings and facilities.
They are employed on either a permanent or a fixed-term contract. In either case, they are recruited through open calls for application.
2. Visiting Research Collaborators
NAOJ also accepts international researchers who have no employment relationship with NAOJ. Such researchers can visit NAOJ on a business trip or by enrolling in systems or programs of related/unrelated organizations to conduct joint research projects while being affiliated with their home institutions or universities.
3. Recruitment and Application Process
Recruitment and application processes vary depending on which system the applicant enrolls in: open applications or applications from host researchers made in accordance with relevant NAOJ rules.
(A) Open Calls for Applications
Open calls for application are available at the website below. Make sure to read the requirements before you apply.
(B) Applications from Host Researchers at NAOJ
For details about this system, contact a staff member with whom you have already performed a joint project. If you have no contact with a NAOJ staff, refer to the following faculty lists and contact a member in the area of your interest.