Working at Astron
Working at ASTRON means working in an international environment with highly skilled professionals in a result-oriented, academic atmosphere.
Whether you're an astronomer, engineer, software developer, technician or support staff, your job at ASTRON is innovative and ground breaking.
Our culture
Working at ASTRON is working in an international scientific work environment, where you are passionate with your work, where we every day all work in making discoveries in radio astronomy and on the latest techniques for radio astronomy. We are ambitious and curious. Curious about the universe, the origin, structure and new stars and galaxies. Ambitious to make discoveries possible. Also, we are perhaps a tad stubborn or obstinate. These features connects us.
To achieve our mission we need colleagues with (specific) knowledge, expertise and skills with regard to a number of what we call core competencies. These core competencies along with the together with the previously mentioned characteristics and the stories of our employees form a good image of our culture. These ingredients are the basis for our existence.
Innovative & Courageous
If you come work with us we encourage you to be innovative and courageous to fulfil our mission. We ask you to generate solutions and new ideas by means of imagination, creativity and the ability to get things done. With us you are able to discover new methods that replace existing methods and techniques. Thereby you should dare to take calculated risks based on a focus on quality.
Global player & open communication
With us you will work within an international scientific environment. We are diverse. Our organization is currently formed by a multi-coloured palette of employees from different countries. This creates beautiful and interesting collaborations. Here within The Netherlands but also abroad. Here with us, we find it important that you take a broad outlook. Focuses on international collaboration.
We like to share our ideas and opinions with others, preferably in comprehensible language and in an approachable manner. We want to be open to our environment and each other. We give each other solicited and unsolicited feedback and we are always open to getting feedback.
ASTRON Netherlands institute for Radio Astronomy.
Andre Gunst
Group leader
My work at ASTRON is very interesting! Mainly because I can solve many challenging and complex problems. To solve these problems, I use the latest technologies. I think it’s important that I help astronomers to unravel the puzzle of the universe. The most inspiring of my work is that I work together with colleagues from […]
Emanuela Orrù
Telescope scientist
During my studies, I realised that I wanted to work in radio astronomy. In my second year, I decided to focus on radio astronomy. My professor pointed out to me that ASTRON build a new radio telescope in the middle of Europe. Because of this ASTRON caught my eye. After my studies and several years […]
Boudewijn Hut
Junior commissioning engineer
During my graduation project for the study of astronomy, I had my first encounter with ASTRON. At that time I got the chance to make an interesting thesis I seized the opportunity immediately! After my studies I started to work at ASTRON. I chose ASTRON partly because it is a knowledge institute. There is also […]
Roelof Boesenkool
Head ICT
ASTRON is a good and fine employer for me. I get many opportunities to develop myself both personally and professionally. That is one of the reasons I started working at ASTRON. You can give direction to your career if you know how to seize the opportunities. In addition I find it nice to work in […]
ASTRON making discoveries in radio astronomy happen.
History
1949 ASTRON, SRZM was officially founded.
Prof. Jan Oort
(Franeker, 28 april 1900 – Leiden, 5 november 1992)
On 23 April 149, the forerunner of ASTRON, SRZM (stichting Radiostraling van Zon en Melkweg/ Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy) was officially founded with Prof. Jan Oort as chairman of the Board, a position he held until his retirement in 1970. SRZM was set up to prepare for the design, construction and operation of the Dwingeloo Telescope.
1956
On 23 April 149, the forerunner of ASTRON, SRZM (stichting Radiostraling van Zon en Melkweg/ Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy) was officially founded with Prof. Jan Oort as chairman of the Board, a position he held until his retirement in 1970. SRZM was set up to prepare for the design, construction and operation of the Dwingeloo Telescope.
1970
The WSRT (Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope) is opened by HM Queen Juliana.
1975-1980
The WSRT is expanded to include two new telescopes, increasing the baseline length to 3 km. This doubles the spatial resolution of the telescope. Cooled receivers are also introduced at 6 and 21 cm.
1988 Square Kilometre Array.
ASTRON is at the forefront of conceiving the original concept of the Square Kilometre Array – this will later emerge as one of the most ambitious global mega-science projects of the 21st century.
1993
The Joint institute for VLBI in Europe is established, hosted by ASTRON. The EVEN Correlator is formally opened in 1998.
2010
LOFAR is opened by HM Queen Beatrix.
2015
A new upgrade of the WSRT commences with the installation of the first APERTIF PAFs (Phased Array Feeds).
2020
The SKA telescope is under construction.
Employment conditions
ASTRON is a subsidiary of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). NWO constitutes together with some other ‘scientific’ employers the
Employers organization for Research Councils (WVOI). WVOI has its own collective labour agreement. In this labour agreement are the salary scales included that also apply to ASTRON.
Your salary at ASTRON is determined by the level, experience and the nature of the job. This goes together with an appropriate salary scale. At ASTRON you can assume that you are well paid for the job you are doing. By delivering a good job and with more experience your salary can rise quickly.
Custom employment terms offers you the option of making choices regarding the composition of your employment terms packages. So can you for example exchange vacation leave hours to by a bicycle or you can exchange gross salary for more vacation leave.
ASTRON offers various ways to develop your career, like for example: learning on the job, commitment in challenging projects which appeals to your talents and capacities, visiting conferences, training programs and of course sharing the knowledge within the institute itself, for example by organizing colloquia. Within ASTRON several fields of expertise offer the possibility to develop from a junior to a senior level.
To reinforce your career development ASTRON offers you the right to education. This may, in the context of a proper exercise of a present or future position in ASTRON. But also in the context of increasing the employability inside and outside the organization. Therefore we can offer you study leave and / or reimbursement of the study costs.
For necessary traveling expenses of commuting you will get a generous compensation.
There are generous allowances for you as a new employee if you are from abroad and you will have to settle in the Netherlands. This includes compensation of the transport (moving) costs and a compensation for the restructuring costs. In some cases, you will also receive a compensation if you need to move from somewhere within the Netherlands to Dwingeloo.
As an employee at ASTRON, you can use the collective discounts on all kinds of insurance, so also on the health insurance. Employees of ASTRON can get insurance with VGZ at competitive prices. Look at
www.vgz.nl for more information.
Our HR staff intensive support new foreign employees. This guidance includes help in finding a suitable home, but they also regulate the application for the visa and residence permit, health insurance application, 30% ruling, a Dutch bank account and social security number. Everything to make the immigration smoothly for the new employee.
We also offer Dutch lessons to new foreign employees.
As an employee of ASTRON with full-time employment you are entitled to 338 hours of holiday per each calendar year. Also you receive a holiday allowance of 8% of your gross salary. If you have overwork and you work a couple of hours more, you get free time in return.
Every parent at ASTRON can use parental leave for children up to the age of eight. At ASTRON you can get a period of paid parental leave and a period of unpaid parental leave.
The pensionfund ABP regulates pension for ASTRON employees. This is the pension fund for the government. Look at www.abp.nl for more information.
