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Job Ad for Executive Director, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI)

24 March 2026

NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) is seeking interested candidates to serve as the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute’s (NExScI’s) next Executive Director.  https://www.jpl.jobs/job/R5526/Executive-Director-NExScI

The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI) at Caltech is the science center for NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Office (ExEP) and serves as a central hub for the exoplanet research community, providing critical infrastructure, data services, and scientific support for the astronomical community. 

NExScI’s work underpins and advances NASA’s strategy to discover and characterize planets beyond our solar system, ensuring that scientists and engineers have the resources they need to push the boundaries of exoplanet discovery.

Major NExScI initiatives include: curating the NASA Exoplanet Archive, ExoFOP service, NEID Archive, and Keck Observatory Archive; creating and running data tools and pipelines; running the annual Sagan Summer Workshops and co-leading the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program; and managing NASA’s time on the two Keck Observatory 10m telescopes. 

The Executive Director of NExScI will be a Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee, work from an office at Caltech, and may hold a joint appointment to Caltech PMA. The role requires extensive engagement with ExEP, JPL, IPAC, NASA Headquarters, Caltech, and the broader astronomical community. The successful candidate will be a distinguished scientific leader who is an effective communicator and strategic thinker who can represent NExScI across institutions, guide its scientific vision, and strengthen its role as a cornerstone of NASA’s exoplanet program. 

Please see https://www.jpl.jobs/job/R5526/Executive-Director-NExScI for more specific information and the link to apply.

Please direct questions to Dr. Dawn Gelino, Manager, NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program: (dawn.gelino@jpl.nasa.gov).

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