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Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Radio Astronomer

Washington, DC ยท On-site

$75 - $95/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience with either the Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) or Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS) packages. * Proficiency with Python programming and standard software ...

Job Summary We are seeking a motivated and curious Software Engineer who is a recent or upcoming graduate passionate about the potential of Generative AI. This is a unique entry-level opportunity to ...

Radio Astronomer

Washington, DC

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience with either the Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) or Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS) packages. * Proficiency with Python programming and standard software ...

Radio Astronomer

Washington, DC ยท On-site

$110K - $130K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience with either the Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) or Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS) packages. * Proficiency with Python programming and standard software ...

Software Engineer, Entry-Level

San Jose, CA ยท On-site

$142K - $169K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

They make it possible to build, test, launch, and run constellations of satellites for a wide variety of missions. Entry-level software engineers are expected to bring significant skills and training ...

Software Engineer, II

Baltimore, MD ยท On-site

$96K - $132K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Retirement

  • PTO

... in Astronomy (AURA), is NASA's science operations center for missions including the Hubble and ... We are seeking a Software Engineer, II /Junior Data Engineer to join our Data Management Division.

Showing results 41-60

Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer information

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$24K

$104.9K

$189K

How much do entry level astronomy software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 19, 2026, the average yearly pay for entry level astronomy software engineer in the United States is $104,863.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $65,000.00 and $120,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does an entry level astronomy software engineer do?

An Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer develops and maintains software tools used by astronomers for data collection, analysis, and visualization. They often work with large datasets from telescopes and space missions, writing code to process and interpret astronomical observations. These engineers collaborate with scientists to create applications that advance research in astronomy, and may also help automate tasks or improve software performance. Their work requires knowledge of programming languages like Python or C++, and a basic understanding of astronomical concepts.

What types of projects or tasks can an entry level astronomy software engineer expect to work on in their first year?

As an Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer, you will typically work on tasks such as developing and maintaining software tools for data analysis, automating data processing pipelines, and supporting the integration of new instruments or telescopes. You may collaborate with astronomers and senior engineers to implement algorithms for image processing or help troubleshoot software issues that arise during observations. Early projects often involve learning codebases, writing unit tests, and gradually taking on more complex features as you become familiar with the scientific and technical requirements of the team.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an entry level astronomy software engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer, you need a solid background in computer science fundamentals, programming (commonly in Python, C++, or Java), and a basic understanding of astronomical concepts, typically supported by a degree in computer science, physics, or astronomy. Familiarity with software development tools, version control systems like Git, and experience with scientific computing libraries or astronomical data processing frameworks are highly valuable. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective communication make candidates stand out in collaborative, research-driven environments. These skills and qualities are crucial for developing robust, efficient software that supports scientific discovery and teamwork in astronomy projects.

What is the difference between Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer vs Entry Level Data Analyst?

AspectEntry Level Astronomy Software EngineerEntry Level Data Analyst
Required CredentialsBachelor's in Astronomy, Computer Science, or related fieldBachelor's in Statistics, Mathematics, or related field
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, observatories, tech companiesBusiness, finance, healthcare sectors
Industry UsageScientific research, space agencies, tech firmsCorporate, consulting, government agencies
Common Search IntentJob roles combining astronomy and software skillsData analysis, reporting, visualization roles

Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineers focus on developing software for astronomical research and space applications, often requiring knowledge of physics and programming. In contrast, Entry Level Data Analysts interpret data to support business decisions, emphasizing statistical skills. While both roles involve programming and data handling, their industries and specific skill sets differ, making each suitable for different career interests.

What are 5 jobs that students of astronomy can obtain?

Students of astronomy can pursue entry-level roles such as astronomical research assistants, observatory technicians, data analysts, science educators, and software developers specializing in astronomical applications. These positions often require knowledge of programming, data analysis, and familiarity with telescopes or astronomical data. Gaining experience with tools like Python, MATLAB, or telescope operation can enhance job prospects in these fields.
More about Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer jobs

What cities are hiring for Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer jobs?

Cities with the most Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer job openings:

What are the most commonly searched types of Astronomy Software Engineer jobs?

The most popular types of Astronomy Software Engineer jobs are:

What states have the most Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer jobs?

States with the most job openings for Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer jobs include:

Infographic showing various Entry Level Astronomy Software Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 87% Full Time, 8% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $104,863 per year, or $50.4 per hour.

Staff Software Engineer, Platform Infrastructure

Astronomer

New York, NY โ€ข On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 25 days ago


Job description

Astronomer empowers data teams to bring mission-critical software, analytics, and AI to life and is the company behind Astro, the industry-leading unified DataOps platform powered by Apache Airflowยฎ. Astro accelerates building reliable data products that unlock insights, unleash AI value, and powers data-driven applications. Trusted by more than 800 of the world's leading enterprises, Astronomer lets businesses do more with their data. To learn more, visit www.astronomer.io.
About this role
Astronomer's products run on a complex, multi-cloud platform - and the scalability, and operational maturity of that platform is what we're actively investing in. The work ahead on our Platform team isn't about managing data or curating pipelines; it's about building the foundational systems that everything else runs on - the kind of systems where the failure modes matter, the latency budgets are real, and getting it wrong has visible consequences for hundreds of enterprise customers.
We're looking for a Staff+-level engineer who has built production platform systems at scale before - not just consumed them. You've designed systems under load, reasoned carefully about failure, and made your colleagues' lives better by giving them something solid and well-understood to build on top of. You write strategy documents and then write the code that proves them out. You've been the person who made the call, and lived with the consequences.
This is a foundational role at a consequential moment: your work will directly shape what Astronomer's products - Astro, Observe, and our IDE - are capable of over the next several years.
What you get to do
Astronomer has a healthy and complex infrastructure estate spanning multiple cloud providers, a mix of managed and self-hosted systems, and an increasingly ambitious set of requirements as our products evolve. We have a clear sense of where we need to go; we need the right person to figure out how to get there and then go build it.
This is very much a technical role - you'll be just as involved in building these systems as in specifying and designing them. We're not looking for someone to write strategy documents; we're looking for someone who writes the strategy and the code, and who has done exactly that before at scale.
  • Blaze a Trail: Own and develop our platform infrastructure strategy, with the sponsorship and responsibility to match. Map out what we need, make the calls, and own the outcomes.
  • Be an Owner: Be directly involved in deciding what we work on and how we work on it. Make promises, and keep them.
  • Do Sensible Things: Make principled build vs. buy assessments and advocate for the right tools for the right job - not the fashionable ones, not the ones already in the estate just because they're there.
  • Garage Door Open: Create and maintain comprehensive internal documentation and decision records for systems and processes. Participate in architectural forums and make principled, open decisions that the rest of the organisation can learn from and hold us to.

What you bring to the role
  • Distributed systems depth, grounded in practice. You have a solid working model of how production systems fail - consistency and availability tradeoffs, failure cascades, backpressure, graceful degradation. You can draw the diagram, explain the failure modes at each node, and make a reasoned argument for which ones actually matter in a given context. NALSD thinking is how you naturally approach a new system design.
  • Kubernetes at operator depth. You know what happens inside the scheduler and the control loop when things go wrong, because you've been there. You've operated clusters under real load, not just deployed workloads onto them.
  • Strong Go proficiency. The platform team writes production Go. You should be fluent: you've built and shipped systems in it, and you have opinions about what good Go looks like.
  • Multi-cloud experience, not just multi-cloud exposure. You've made considered architectural decisions across AWS, GCP, and/or Azure - not just consumed managed services, but evaluated tradeoffs between them and lived with those decisions in production.
  • Experience defining requirements and driving technology choices across an engineering organization. You've been the person in the room who frames the decision correctly, not just the one who executes it.
  • Strong written and verbal communication. You can write a design doc that changes minds, and a postmortem that makes the organisation smarter. You've worked effectively in a globally-distributed team.

Bonus points if you have
  • Experience with storage primitives at the system level - you've reasoned about when to reach for a relational store vs. an object store vs. something else, and you have real opinions informed by real failures.
  • Experience working on a SaaS/PaaS product across multiple cloud providers.
  • Familiarity with Apache Airflow or workflow orchestration systems.

At Astronomer, we value diversity. We are an equal opportunity employer: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.