2023 Staff Search Application Evaluation Criteria

The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science invites applications from candidates with diverse experiences, knowledge, skills, and abilities. We are actively working to make Carnegie an institution where individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and strengths are valued and recognized for their contributions. We believe diverse skills contribute meaningfully to the advancement of science. Accordingly, we will evaluate candidate applications on a range of criteria relevant to the role and our institution’s mission and values. We expect successful applicants will have varied strengths across these criteria and may not excel in all outlined criteria. We encourage applicants to describe all relevant experiences and accomplishments that relate to any of the criteria listed below within their application materials, but do not expect application materials to follow the criteria list point by point. 

Applications will be evaluated based on the degree to which search committee members agree with the following statements based on evidence from the applicant’s submitted materials:

To evaluate the candidate's research capabilities

• Has significant depth of expertise in their specialty.
• Articulates breadth of knowledge across multiple subfields in astronomy.
• Effectively communicates complex research topics to astronomers outside their field in their written research statement.
• Has impactful, important, and/or innovative peer-reviewed publications. (Please note that for those working in instrumentation, unreviewed publications from SPIE carry equal weight.)
• Articulates a defined plan of research that is likely to be impactful, influential, and innovative (a ~5 year plan).
• Has a record of success in applying for publicly or privately competed resources (funding, telescope time, computing time, etc.).
• Will benefit from and make productive use of Carnegie observing, engineering, computational facilities, data access, and/or collaborations with Carnegie scientists, primarily at the Observatories but also including the Earth and Planets Lab.
• Strategically deepens or broadens the research carried out at the Carnegie Institution for Science.

To evaluate the candidate’s broader impacts as a community member

• Appears likely (based on prior experience or stated plans) to be a skillful mentor to students and postdocs.
• Appears likely (based on prior experience or stated plans) to participate in the intellectual life within the department.
• Appears likely (based on prior actions in a formal or informal context or through stated plans) to have potential for leadership within Carnegie, the field, and/or the local community.
• Appears likely (based on prior experience or stated plans) to be committed to service within their department or to the field.
• Appears likely (based on prior experience or stated plans) to participate in or lead outreach to the community (professional or public).
• Appears likely (based on prior experience or lived experience) to be committed to expanding diversity, equity, and/or inclusion in STEM.
• Has particular experience that expands representation at Carnegie and/or articulates a thoughtful plan to increase diversity, equity, and/or inclusion at Carnegie.