Astronomer Resume: Free Example (2026)

Start by replacing the sample content with your own details and keep the ordering that highlights your strongest qualifications first.
Focus on measurable research outcomes, relevant instrumentation skills, and roles that show your ability to design or analyze observations.

Keep sentences short and concrete so a hiring manager can scan your accomplishments quickly.

Place your name, professional title, email, phone number, and city at the top so a recruiter can contact you immediately.
Add a link to your personal website, ADS profile, or GitHub if you maintain code or data releases relevant to astronomy.

Avoid lengthy addresses or unrelated social profiles that distract from your scientific work.

Write a short summary of 2 to 3 lines that highlights your area of specialization such as observational cosmology, planetary science, or instrumentation.
Mention years of experience, key techniques you use, and a recent measurable result like data releases or a major survey contribution.

Keep this section targeted to the role you are applying for and avoid vague claims about being the best.

List positions in reverse chronological order and give 3 to 6 concise bullets for each role that show what you did and the outcome.
For each bullet include your action, the methods or tools, and the measurable result such as number of spectra processed, surveys led, or derived constraints.

Use terms hiring committees expect, such as data reduction, spectral fitting, pipeline development, and observational proposals.

Designed and executed a multiwavelength observing campaign using ALMA and VLA, reducing and calibrating data for 40 targets and producing a cleaned image library for analysis.
Led development of a Python pipeline for spectral line fitting that reduced processing time by 60 percent and enabled reproducible measurements for 300 spectra.

Authored observing proposals that secured 45 nights of telescope time, including a successful time allocation for a time-domain monitoring program that captured transient behaviour.

List peer reviewed publications in standard citation format, starting with first or most relevant authorships depending on role.
Include conferences and invited talks that show community recognition and note if you chaired sessions or organized workshops.

If you have many papers, include a selected list of the most relevant five to ten and link to a full list online.

Group technical skills into categories like Observational Techniques, Data Analysis, and Software.
Name specific instruments, telescopes, programming languages, and analysis packages such as IRAF alternatives, CASA, Astropy, or machine learning libraries when they are directly relevant.

Avoid long generic skill lists and focus on skills you can demonstrate with examples elsewhere in your resume or portfolio.

List degrees with institution, year, and thesis title if relevant, and place PhD information near the top for academic roles.
Include notable fellowships, major grants, and funded proposals that demonstrate your ability to win resources for research.

For early career applicants, add key coursework or thesis supervisors when they strengthen fit for the role.

Use a clean font, consistent margins, and clear section headings so your resume is easy to read on screen and in print.
Keep academic CVs longer when required but tailor a résumé style one to two pages for industry or observatory instrument positions that screen for practical skills.

Use bullet points to present accomplishments and avoid dense paragraphs that hide your impact.

For instrument scientist roles emphasize hardware, lab experience, and system integration work, and list specific tools and calibration workflows you used.
For data science or software roles highlight your code contributions, dataset releases, and reproducible analysis pipelines with links to repositories or notebooks.

For academic job applications prioritize publications, grant history, and teaching experience while still showing technical skills.

Clarify your role on multi authored papers by noting contributions such as lead analysis, pipeline development, or proposal writing in parentheses or a brief author contribution line.
When you list large collaborations, specify the task you performed for the team and any leadership responsibilities like coordination or mentorship.

This makes it easier for reviewers to assess your independent contribution.

Include sections like Teaching Experience, Outreach, or Data Releases when they are relevant to the position and show transferable skills.
Add a short Awards section for fellowships, travel grants, or teaching prizes that indicate recognition by peers.

For industry roles include patents or product contributions if applicable.