Company Profile

European Southern Observatory

Company Overview

The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries.

ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in northern Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor (home to ALMA and APEX), and the ESO Headquarters are located in Garching, near Munich, Germany.

At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and will host and operate the southern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the world's largest and most sensitive high energy gamma-ray observatory. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky" and whose operations will be fully integrated into the Paranal Observatory.

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  • 3 days ago

    ELT Programme Scientist

    European Southern Observatory - Garching near Munich, Other, Germany
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    The ELT Programme Scientist provides the overall scientific leadership for the ELT and its suite of instruments. The role encompasses all scientific aspects of the ELT Construction Programme, covering the telescope itself, and the development of its instruments under the ESO Instrumentation Programme. A key responsibility is to ensure strategic and scientific alignment between these two programmes. The Programme Scientist is charged with developing strategies to maximize the scientific performance ...

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  • 3 days ago

    Astronomer / VLTI Project Scientist

    European Southern Observatory - Garching near Munich, Other, Germany
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    The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is an ESO flagship infrastructure and facility combining the light from the four 8.2-meter Unit Telescopes and the four associated movable Auxiliary Telescopes. Its development recently included the GRAVITY and MATISSE instruments, and the planned final commissioning phases of GRAVITY+ will mark a milestone for its scientific performance and capabilities. ESO is inviting applications from motivated and visionary scientists for the position of VLTI ...

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  • 3 days ago

    Director of Programmes

    European Southern Observatory - Garching near Munich, Other, Germany
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    Reporting directly to the Director General, the Director of Programmes leads ESO's major programmes and oversees the Organisation's programmatic framework. The Director of Programmes is responsible for programme planning and control, for providing project-management capabilities across ESO, and for guiding the design and construction of new world-leading astronomical facilities and technologies within ESO's matrix organisation. These facilities include the ELT, the largest optical/infrared ...

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  • 4 days ago

    Director of Programmes

    European Southern Observatory - Garching near Munich, Germany
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    Reporting directly to the Director General, the Director of Programmes leads ESO's major programmes and oversees the Organisation's programmatic framework. The Director of Programmes is responsible for programme planning and control, for providing project-management capabilities across ESO, and for guiding the design and construction of new world-leading astronomical facilities and technologies within ESO's matrix organisation. These facilities include the ELT, the largest optical/infrared ...

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