Careers
Work at the Laboratories
Much of our work happens at a remote field station, on a long timescale, on questions that may not resolve within a career. It is not for everyone. For the right person, there is nowhere else quite like it.
FAL roles are split between on-site station work, remote analysis, public data systems, and institutional operations. Positions that require Calder Ridge duty say so plainly. The station is remote by design, and the hiring process treats that as a material part of the work.
Packet standard
Every requisition is routed by ID, program office, required materials, and access-review level.
Review windows
Complete packets submitted before the posted review date are included in the first program read.
Candidate exercise
Work samples are bounded, redacted, and reviewed only for hiring. They are not used as laboratory work product.
Station decisions
On-site duty, remote eligibility, housing, travel, and access review are settled before offer, not after start.
Principal Scientist, Persistent Signals
Persistent Signal Catalog
Lead the review standard for unresolved catalog entries and supervise cross-program candidate adjudication.
This role exists because the catalog is no longer a side record. It is a standing institutional product with public summaries, restricted appendices, contradictory evidence, and old entries that still attract new claims.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- Primarily on-site
- Range
- $168,000 - $215,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 22, 2026
- Close
- Open until filled
Research Scientist, Signal Detection
Celestial & Aerial Signals Program
Investigate narrow-band signals of apparent celestial origin, from candidate identification through sky-position correlation and public catalog entry.
The program needs a researcher who can live between public sky data and private instrument records without letting either one overstate the other.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- Hybrid with regular station duty
- Range
- $128,000 - $162,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 29, 2026
- Close
- August 21, 2026
Field Instrumentation Engineer
Field Instrumentation Group
Design, build, and maintain antenna, hydrophone, and ground-sensor systems that recover persistent signals at the edge of detection.
The continuous record only survives if hardware changes are deliberate, reversible, and documented well enough for future replay.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- On-site
- Range
- $112,000 - $148,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 17, 2026
- Close
- Open until filled
Senior Data Scientist, Detection Statistics
Persistent Signal Catalog
Develop statistical methods that separate real persistent signals from the enormous volume of noise the Laboratories record.
The Laboratories receive more candidate reductions than the research staff can manually inspect. This role protects the review standard before volume turns into false confidence.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio, or remote
- Model
- Remote eligible
- Range
- $138,000 - $178,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 31, 2026
- Close
- August 28, 2026
Distributed Systems Engineer, Field Array
Distributed Analysis Initiative
Build and operate the volunteer distributed-compute network that performs most candidate reduction for the Laboratories.
The Field Array depends on thousands of ordinary computers doing small, trustworthy pieces of work. The engineering standard is correctness under partial trust.
- Location
- Remote, United States
- Model
- Remote
- Range
- $142,000 - $185,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 24, 2026
- Close
- August 14, 2026
Product Engineer, Night Watch
Celestial & Aerial Signals Program
Own the public sky and catalog interface used by researchers, contributors, and observers.
Night Watch is a public instrument, not a campaign page. The work is to make complex review status legible without making it theatrical.
- Location
- Remote or Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- Remote eligible
- Range
- $126,000 - $166,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 26, 2026
- Close
- August 16, 2026
Archive Systems Librarian
Office of the Director
Preserve, digitize, describe, and govern access to six decades of field logs, tapes, instrument drawings, and technical correspondence.
The archive is the reason old records can be challenged instead of merely remembered. This role protects that continuity as fragile media and retiring staff both age out.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- On-site
- Range
- $86,000 - $112,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 18, 2026
- Close
- August 9, 2026
Facilities & Security Coordinator
Field Instrumentation Group
Coordinate access, visitor movement, safety compliance, and maintenance logistics across the private Calder Ridge tract.
Calder Ridge works because visitors, contractors, staff, instruments, and weather do not collide. The role is practical, discreet, and visible to nearly everyone on site.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- On-site
- Range
- $78,000 - $104,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 25, 2026
- Close
- Open until filled
Science Communications Editor
Office of External Affairs
Edit public research notes, press materials, and catalog language so the Laboratories remain clear, serious, and precise.
The communications office is expected to make uncertainty readable without making it exciting. That discipline matters more here than speed.
- Location
- Remote or Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- Hybrid / remote eligible
- Range
- $92,000 - $126,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 27, 2026
- Close
- August 18, 2026
Manager, Grants & Sponsored Research
Office of the Director
Manage private grants, collaboration agreements, reporting obligations, and sponsored-research administration.
Private support keeps the record open only when reporting is accurate and boundaries are clear. This role keeps funding useful without letting it steer conclusions.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio, or remote
- Model
- Hybrid / remote eligible
- Range
- $104,000 - $138,000
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- July 30, 2026
- Close
- August 23, 2026
Seasonal Field Technician
Field Instrumentation Group
Assist with array inspection, route clearing, calibration support, and seasonal maintenance across the field tract.
Seasonal field staff make the quiet work possible: clearing paths, checking enclosures, recording conditions, and noticing small changes before instruments do.
- Location
- Calder Ridge Field Station, Ohio
- Model
- On-site seasonal
- Range
- $28 - $36 per hour
- Packet
- 3 materials
- Checks
- 4 finalist
- Review
- Rolling review
- Close
- When seasonal crew is filled
A slow process by design
Application intake
Applications enter a restricted recruiting queue. The relevant program office, not a central marketing team, completes the first review.
Evidence of work
Most roles include a writing sample, code review, data exercise, metadata exercise, or scenario review. FAL does not use trick interviews.
Program panel
Candidates meet the people responsible for the record they would support. For station roles, the panel includes operations and safety staff.
Station or remote duty review
Roles with Calder Ridge duty include a practical conversation about travel, access controls, weather, private land, and long quiet work.
Reference and access review
Finalists complete reference checks and any role-specific access, records, safety, or software supply-chain review before offer.
Benefits and support
Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents
403(b) plan with institutional contribution after eligibility period
Paid vacation, sick time, observed holidays, field recovery days where applicable
Relocation support for continuing Calder Ridge appointments
Conference, publication, and professional development support by program approval
On-site lodging access during field duty, calibration windows, and weather holds
Candidate boundaries
Salary ranges are published because candidates should not need to negotiate against hidden information.
Remote eligible means remote eligible. It does not mean occasional permission to work from home.
On-site roles require reliable travel to a private rural station with visitor controls and limited public transit.
FAL does not ask candidates to prepare unpaid research plans that the Laboratories could use without hiring them.
Role-family review matrix
| Family | Packet emphasis | Review exercise |
|---|---|---|
| Research | CV, publications, candidate-review judgment | Program seminar or redacted candidate review |
| Analysis | Notebook or methods sample, false-alarm reasoning | Reproducibility and failure-case review |
| Engineering | Instrumentation or field record, safety habits | Troubleshooting exercise and site walk where applicable |
| Software / public data | Code, product, visualization, or systems portfolio | Systems critique or interface review |
| Archive / operations | Records, logistics, security, or preservation sample | Scenario review with access and continuity constraints |
| Communications / administration | Writing, editing, grant, or agreement materials | Bounded edit, reporting, or obligations exercise |