Author: Marcus Mohring

We announce a postdoctoral position in Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation. The successful candidate will work with Prof Laura Nuttall on her Future Leaders Fellowship extension, `Multi-band, Multi-messenger Astrophysics with LIGO, LISA and GOTO’. The position will focus on using Bayesian Inference methods to investigate and develop techniques to overcome gaps, and non-Gaussian and non-stationary detector noise, in the context of searches and inference of source parameters for both LISA and LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to engage in teaching, scholarship, research, innovation, outreach and public engagement as needed in line with the Department, Faculty and University objectives. Application close February 2nd 2026.

This appointment is a fixed-term contract for 24 months, starting or around 1st September 2026.

Whilst there is a need to be in Portsmouth a few days a week, hybrid working is available for this role.

For internal candidates it may be possible to apply for this role under the Secondment Policy . If you wish to apply as a secondee, you must have approval of your line manager in advance of submitting your application form. Please confirm in your application that your line manager has approved this.

If you have any queries regarding this position, please contact Laura Nuttall at laura.nuttall(at)port.ac.uk

Discover the advantages of joining our university. We offer a range of attractive benefits and opportunities to enhance your work experience:

• Competitive salary, including incremental progression within your scale.
• Generous pension scheme.
• Generous leave entitlement of 32–35 days a year, plus bank holidays, and an additional Christmas closure.
• Family-friendly policies supporting flexible working.
• Staff discounts and loyalty schemes.
• Staff car parking and discounted public travel.
• Excellent training and development opportunities.
• Staff wellbeing programmes.
• Recreation facilities, including discounted gym membership, food on campus schemes, use of the Library and staff social activities.
• Discounted learning.
• Start-up business mentoring from expert entrepreneurs via our Entrepreneurs in Residence programme.
• The perks don’t stop there – click ‘apply’ for further information on My Reward and Benefits

UKVI Statement

Prior to submitting your application, kindly ensure that you can either demonstrate or acquire the necessary right to work in the UK. If you currently do not possess the right to work in the UK, please be aware that our offer of employment is conditional upon you obtaining it.

ED&I Statement:

We are committed to upholding the University’s values of being ambitious, open and responsible, in an inclusive working environment that promotes dignity and respect.

Please note that this vacancy may be closed earlier than advertised, so early applications are advised.

Further information

The ICG consists of 20 academic staff, around 20 postdoctoral researchers, 6 research software engineers, 3 outreach and public engagement fellows, around 30 PhD students, and has an active international visitor programme. Portsmouth has major involvement in the Dark Energy Survey (DES),  the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the Vera Rubin Observatory, ESA’s Euclid satellite mission, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), the Gravitational Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), and other international collaborations. The University of Portsmouth is a member of the South-East Physics Network (SEPnet) and hosts the 4704-core SCIAMA supercomputer. More information is available at http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/

Guidance for application

If you do not currently have Right to Work (RTW) in the UK, the University will support you to obtain the necessary VISA. If you are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa or a Global Talent Visa the University will support you with the required supporting documents.

Please note the following details will need to be submitted when applying to this role.

Please upload the following via page 8 of the application through the recruitment system (in PDF format, either together in one PDF, or in separate PDFs) :

• Research Statement, not longer than 3 pages
• CV
• Publication list

 Please submit the following directly to the department:

• Three letters of recommendation to be sent by email to icg-recruitment(at)port.ac.uk to arrive by the closing date.

Please find here full details.

The International Centre for Theoretical Physics – Asia Pacific (ICTP-AP), at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), will open multiple postdoctoral positions in 2026. The positions will provide successful candidates the opportunity to concurrently pursue their own research directions in gravitational-wave and/or dark-matter physics and phenomenology, while also collaborating with members of the ICTP-AP/UCAS LIGO group. Application deadline: March 31st 2026.

About the Institution ICTP-AP is the first UNESCO Category II centre in fundamental sciences established in China. It is a non-profit organisation dedicated to high-level research, education, and training in frontier areas of basic science and related interdisciplinary fields. The Centre is jointly supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP, Italy), and is hosted by UCAS. Official website: https://ictp-ap.org

Position Details

• Location: Beijing, China
• Duration: Two years, renewable up to three years
• Salary & Benefits:
• Annual pre-tax salary of RMB 250,000 (excluding the employer’s contribution to social insurance and housing fund)
• Housing allowance: RMB 6,000 per month
• Generous support for travel and research expenses
• Applicants are encouraged to apply for national/postdoctoral fellowship programs; successful awards will lead to corresponding salary increases

About the group The successful candidates will join the gravitational-wave group at ICTP-AP and conduct research in collaboration with Andrew L. Miller at ICTP-AP, as well as other faculty, postdocs and students.

The ICTP-AP gravitational-wave group focuses on using LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA as precision instruments to probe particle dark matter and exotic compact objects. It currently has two faculty members (Huaike Guo and Andrew L. Miller), five postdocs, and five PhD students. The group develops and applies robust data-analysis methods for continuous and long-duration gravitational-wave signals, and is involved in stochastic gravitational-wave background studies. Research spans gravitational-wave astronomy, particle physics, and statistical inference, and is carried out in close interaction with international collaborations.

We welcome new collaborations and research directions.

About Beijing Beijing is a vibrant international metropolis with a population of over 20 million, combining modern urban life with a rich cultural and historical heritage. The city is made up of many distinct neighborhoods and is surrounded by mountains, offering access to outdoor activities as well as nearby historical landmarks, including several well-preserved sections of the Great Wall.

As a major transportation hub, Beijing provides convenient high-speed rail and air connections to other regions of China, making it easy to explore the country. Supported by a large academic community and a diverse international population, the city offers a stimulating environment for both professional and personal life at a reasonable cost of living.

Qualifications

1. A PhD in Physics
2. Strong academic record
3. Research experience in gravitational-wave physics, particularly in any of the following areas: o Probes of dark matter with gravitational waves o Continuous gravitational waves o Gravitational-wave searches for primordial black holes o Data analysis for next-generation ground- and space-based gravitational-wave detectors
4. Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, with high-quality publications as first or lead author in top journals of the field

Application Materials

1. Cover letter and curriculum vitae
2. List of publications
3. Brief research statement detailing the applicant’s experience and what they would like to do at ICTP-AP
4. Two letters of recommendation from experts in the field

Recruitment Process

1. Applications will be accepted starting from the date of announcement until the position is filled
2. Application review is expected to begin on January 23, 2026 The start date is negotiable, with early start encouraged.

Contact Information For any inquiries, please email Andrew L. Miller at: andrew.miller.ligo(at)ucas.ac.cn .

Please find here full details.

The Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences invites applications for a postdoc position in the Relativistic Astrophysics Group (astro.cas.cz/people) at the Prague section of the Institute. The appointment will initially be for 1 year, with a possible extension to 2 years. The anticipated start date is early Spring 2026, though this remains flexible and subject to negotiation.

We seek candidates with a strong background in one or more of the following areas: black hole physics, black hole perturbation theory and quasinormal modes, quantum or modified theories of gravity, gravitational-wave theory, and application of machine learning or advanced computational methods to theoretical physics.

The successful candidate will conduct systematic research into black hole ringdown within realistic astrophysical environments. Key objectives include comparing the environmental signatures against modified gravity theories and evaluating their observational prospects.

Application Requirements: Please submit the following documents in one pdf:

1. Curriculum Vitae,
2. full list of publications,
3. Research Statement (max. 3 pages) detailing past achievements and how your expertise would benefit the position.

Please arrange for two or three letters of recommendation to be sent directly by the referees to the email address listed below.

• Closing date: Please ensure all materials, including recommendation letters, are submitted by January 26, 2026, to receive full consideration.
• Applications should be sent to: sekretariat (at) asu.cas.cz
• CC to: kotlarik (at) asu.cas.cz
• Subject: “LUC25 postdoc – Prague”

Candidates must hold a PhD in theoretical physics, astrophysics, or a closely related field by the start of the appointment. A necessary condition for the appointment is satisfying the legal requirements for employment in the Czech Republic. For informal inquiries, please get in touch with Petr Kotlařík at the email address: kotlarik (at) asu.cas.cz.

Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged via email. Shortlisted candidates will be notified following the conclusion of the selection process.

Please find here full details.

Are you interested in technology and techniques which allow us to observe black holes colliding a million light years out in the cosmos? We are looking for a postdoc to work on the cross section of research, education and collaboration with industry and join the ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab project. The deadline for applications is 31 January 2026.

ETpathfinder is a field laboratory for research, development and validation of new technologies for the Einstein Telescope. Based on a full interferometer configuration ETpathfinder aims to perform length measurements at the level of a thousandths of a proto diameter, which requires going beyond the state of art in a variety of fields including optics, sensors, lasers, materials, cryogenic cooling, vibration damping, vacuum and controls.  

The ETpathfinder Smart Skills lab is a new initiative with the aim of providing training to companies and industry partners in ETpathfinder related technologies and skills. These skill trainings will be offered in particular to small and medium enterprises (SME) in Flanders and the south of the Netherlands (Limburg and Noord Brabant). The ETpathfinder Smart Skills lab is an initiative of 17 academic and educational partners from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. 

Job description

• You would join a cohort of 11 ETpathfinder Technology Experts who will initially work for 12 months with the ETpathfinder team to get trained in the ETpathfinder facility at Maastricht. Afterwards you will develop training modules and deliver them (online & practical) to SMEs.   
• You will work in close collaboration with the ETpathfinder team (consisting of more than 20 research institutes and universities from 7 countries) and the ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab team.  
• The location of this full-time job is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86, 9000 Ghent Belgium. You will be expected to spend a significant fraction of your time at the ETpathfinder facility in Maastricht (Maastricht University, Duboisdomein 30, Maastricht, the Netherlands).  
• Your research focus will be on optics, which is also the primary commitment of Ghent University towards the ETpathfinder project.

Requirements

• PhD degree in physics or a related field (essential) 
• Proficient in English language and good communication skills (essential) 
• You can work independently (essential) 
• You are flexible in collaboration with others (essential) 
• Experience in research relevant for gravitational wave instrumentation (desirable) 
• Experience in education and outreach (desirable) 

What we offer

We offer a challenging and varied job in an innovative and international environment as a 1+1 year full-time employment contract as postdoctoral researcher. Intended start date is 01 April 2026, which can be delayed if necessary.

Employer

Ghent University

Ghent University (UGent) is a premier university in Belgium founded in 1817. It offers more than 200 study programmes and conducts in-depth research within a wide range of scientific domains. Employing more than 15,000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision daily. It has 11 faculties and more than 80 departments grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields. Our credo is “Dare to Think”.

Faculty of Sciences

The Faculty of Sciences currently consists of 12 departments spread over mathematical and physical sciences, chemistry, biology, geology, and geography. It positions itself as an international knowledge hub in the natural sciences focused on groundbreaking and independent research and future-proof education. Our vision is to connect scientists with society, foster sustainable change, and create impactful innovations. Our motto, “Innovation Starts with Science(s)”, reflects this ambition.

Research Group

The Ghent Gravity Group carries out research in gravitational waves. Members of the group are involved with Virgo instrumentation, LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA data analysis, and Observational Science with the Einstein Telescope. Ghent University is a founding partner of theETPathfinder project, and members of the group take part in the instrumentation developments related to this facility in Maastricht. Ghent University is also one of the initial founding research units of the Einstein Telescope Collaboration. Instrumentation activities of the group are currently overseen by Dr. Daniela Pascucci <daniela.pascucci(at)ugent.be>. The group is hosted in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and integrated into a broader research group working on Experimental Particle Physics and Gravity.

How to apply?

The deadline for applications is 31 January 2026, but the position will remain available until filled. Applications should be sent by email to gravity(at)ugent.beand should include: (i) a motivation letter, (ii) an academic CV, (iii) a description of past research, and additionally (iv) threeletters of reference (to be sent directly by the referees to the address above).

For more information about the position, please contact Archisman Ghosh <archisman.ghosh(at)ugent.be>

The Cardiff University Gravity Exploration Institute is seeking applications to fill the position of Research Associate in gravitational-wave astronomy. One position is available at the Grade 6 level for two years. The successful candidate will contribute to one or more of our research areas in numerical relativity, source modelling, gravitational-wave data analysis, and astrophysical population inference. This post is full time and is fixed term for two years. Closing Date: January 16, 2026.

Cardiff has a long history of involvement in ground-based gravitational-wave physics, particularly in source modelling, data analysis, and astrophysical and cosmological interpretations (Stephen Fairhurst, Mark Hannam, Vivien Raymond, Isobel Romero-Shaw, Patrick Sutton, Fabio Antonini), instrument design and commissioning (Hartmut Grote, Katherine Dooley, Keiko Kokeyama), electromagnetic follow-up of gravitational-wave events (Cosimo Inserra), and education and public outreach (Chris North).

For informal enquiries about the post please contact Mark Hannam (hannammd(at)cardiff.ac.uk).

For informal enquiries about working at Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy please contact PhysicsHR(at)cardiff.ac.uk

Please find here full details.