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Category: Positions

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Call for Applications: Director Position at EGO

The position of Director of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) is open, and applications are now being invited.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director is the legal representative of the EGO Consortium and provides overall strategic, scientific, and administrative leadership of the organization. The Director, in his/her role of Chair of the VirgoLab Executive Board, ensures the effective functioning of the Virgo gravitational-wave detector, leads its scientific and technical strategy, manages its financial and human resources, and represents EGO on behalf of the Consortium and represents VirgoLab.

KEY RESPONSABILITIES

  • Strategic and Scientific Leadership: Define and implement EGO’s long-term vision in alignment with the EGO council; ensure scientific excellence and technical innovation at EGO; promote EGO and Virgo roles in the scientific community; hold the responsibility for the operation, maintenance and development of the Virgo gravitational-wave detector as chair of the VirgoLab Executive Board.
  • Operational and Administrative Management: Legal responsibility for all EGO activities, infrastructures and personnel; oversee daily operations; guarantee safe and reliable functioning of Virgo;
  • Financial and Resource Management: Prepare and execute the annual budget; ensure transparent financial reporting; seek for additional external fundings.
  • External Relations and Representation: Represent EGO to Member institutions and international partners; foster collaborations; promote EGO’s mission at European and global levels.

 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate is required to hold a recognized scientific standing in experimental physics, preferably gravitational-wave research and have a solid international scientific and management experience related to research infrastructures, preferably in large scale facilities.  

Candidates should have strategic capabilities and excellent operational leadership abilities, and managerial skills, as well as a strong understanding of financial and administrative management in a research context.

The successful candidate is required to have an outstanding career record of achievements and to have experience in leading multidisciplinary teams and complex projects preferably within an international environment.

Excellent communication and negotiation skills are required as well as knowledge of research funding programs, including EU programs, and a strong track record in fund raising is an asset.

The candidate may indicate the name of a possible deputy director.

Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of Italian language is considered an asset, though not mandatory.

PERSONAL SKILLS

  • Ability to provide visionary leadership and strategic planning.
  • Sound judgment and decision-making under complex conditions.
  • Ability to foster collaboration across scientific, technical, and administrative teams.
  • Commitment to transparency, integrity, and excellence.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

In observance of the “Gender Equality Plan 2024-2026”, EGO is committed to promoting procedures that favor gender-sensitive recruitment, career and appointments, as well as the promotion of women in executive positions. Applications from women will therefore be explicitly encouraged.

Candidates should send their application in English via email, including a cover letter containing a statement of purpose and motivation, a curriculum vitae, and the list of the most relevant academic publications to:   applications(at)ego-gw.eu

Please, note that application documents will be shared with the Members of the Search Committee and the EGO Council members.

Job Opening: 31st January 2026

Deadline for submission: 31st March 2026, 12.00 p.m. CET

Please find here full details.

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Call for Postdoc 2026 “Young Researcher Excellence Fellowships” Projects at Université Côte d’Azur

As part of its commitment to excellence and international outreach, the IdEx Université Côte d'Azur is launching the 2026 Young Researcher Excellence Fellowships campaign to encourage the recruitment of young researchers at post-doctoral level for a 24-month period in its laboratories. The call for proposals is designed to fund 12 contracts. All disciplines and themes are covered. Application deadline March 6, 2026.

Applicants must first contact a Université Côte d’Azur laboratory or research group.

Together, the candidate and supervisor will draw up an original research program, which will be submitted via our dedicated Nuxéo platform. Successful applicants are explicitly and contractually required to apply for a permanent position (such as permanent researcher – Chargé de Recherche) at Université Côte d’Azur or one of its partner institutions, or to submit an ERC grant application.

Please find here details.

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Experimental postdoc openings for LISA in Trento

Opening of 3 new postdoc positions (contratti di ricerca) at the Università di Trento (Italy) for experimental research aimed at consolidating the free-falling test mass system for LISA, with analysis, design, and, most importantly, laboratory measurement.

The appointments are for 2 years, extendable for an additional period of up to 3 years. the deadline for application is 18 February 2026. Applicants must have have a PhD — ideally experimental physics — now or receive the title in the next 6 months.

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to LISA hardware in the final years before delivery for flight, and thus to have an impact on the observatory performance at the low frequencies relevant to super massive black hole science. in addition to laboratory measurements, especially small force tests, you will support our collaboration with ESA, industry, and international institute partners in building LISA, as part of the PI team for the “gravitational reference system” (GRS), the Italian (ASI) hardware contribution to the mission.

A more detailed description, and link to the online application process, can be found here.

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PhD Position at University of Auckland in New Zealand

The University of Auckland in New Zealand is seeking a highly motivated and skilled student with a strong background in physics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a related discipline to take on a three-year PhD project that will help us prepare for the next galactic supernova using deep learning.

Core-collapse supernovae are among the most energetic events in the Universe and are expected to produce rich gravitational-wave (GW) signals that encode information about extreme matter, rotation, and explosion mechanisms. Unlike compact binary mergers, these signals are poorly modelled and difficult to detect using traditional matched-filtering techniques. This PhD project aims to develop and apply modern deep learning methods to detect and characterise supernova GW signals in data from ground-based detectors such as LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA.

The successful candidate will design probabilistic deep learning models to learn physically meaningful signal representations and to perform Bayesian inference in the presence of realistic detector noise and transient glitches. The project will explore how learned latent spaces can be used for detection, parameter estimation, and model comparison, and how these approaches complement existing burst and excess-power searches used by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Collaboration.

This research sits at the intersection of astrophysics, statistics, and artificial intelligence, and will involve close interaction with international GW data-analysis efforts. The student will gain experience in deep learning, Bayesian inference, high-performance computing, and gravitational-wave astronomy, with opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge searches for the first gravitational-wave detection of a core-collapse supernova.

Applicants should have a strong background in physics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a related discipline, with an interest in machine learning and astrophysical data analysis. Programming experience (e.g. Python, PyTorch/JAX) is desirable.

The PhD scholarship is available from March 2026 and provides an annual (tax-free) stipend of $35,000 NZD plus tuition fees for three years.

To apply for this scholarship, please send your CV, academic transcript, and a description of yourself to Dr Matt Edwards (matt.edwards(at)auckland.ac.nz).

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Post-doc position in Large Scale Structure Rubin/LSST survey and 3rd generation GW detectors in Sao Paulo

Applications are open for a postdoctoral position to work on multi-messenger science, with focus on the exploitation of data from the Vera Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) and 3rd generation GW observatories (Einstein Telescope/Cosmic Explorer). Combining galaxies, quasars and other sources detected with the LSST, with mergers of compact objects (black holes and neutron stars) detected by present and future facilities, represents a new frontier for connecting cosmology and fundamental physics. The synergies between maps of electromagnetic sources and gravitational wave sources offer new opportunities for probes of the universe at low and high redshifts, structure formation and the merger history traced by stellar-mass objects as well as galaxies, among other areas. Deadline on Feb 20, 2026.

The candidates should have a solid background in at least one of the two areas of this call (gravitational waves and/or cosmology).

The FAPESP postdoctoral fellowships pay an annual tax-free salary of 150,000 Brazilian reais as well as moving costs and 12,000 reais per year for research expenses. Postdocs will also receive additional funds for travel to conferences, to invite visitors, and to organize schools and workshops.

Candidates are recommended to apply before February 20th, 2026 by sending to
riccardo.sturani(at)unesp.br their Curriculum vitae with publication list and research project. In addition, they should arrange 3 researchers to send recommendation letters at the above email address. Any questions can be sent to the same email-address.

The successful candidate is expected to start the postdoc by October 2026, but otherwise the starting date is flexible.
Contact: Riccardo Sturani (riccardo.sturani(at)unesp.br)

Please find here full details.

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Deputy System Engineer – Scientific Instrumentation for Space Missions at AEI Hannover

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) is a world-leading center specializing in gravitational physics, gravitational-wave research, and precision laser interferometry. The institute has more than 400 employees across its Potsdam and Hannover locations. For our Hannover site, we are seeking a:

Deputy System Engineer – Scientific Instrumentation for Space Missions at AEI Hannover

The position is embedded in the “Laser Interferometry in Space” group, which has contributed significantly to missions such as LISA Pathfinder and GRACE-FO and is currently playing a leading role in ESA’s LISA mission. You will join a multidisciplinary and international team working at the forefront of spaceborne gravitational-wave detection.

Your Duties and Responsibilities

  • Support the LISA System Engineer in system engineering activities and progressively assume deputy responsibilities.
  • Coordinate system-level decisions and participate in internal and external technical meetings.
  • Contribute to system design, verification tasks, and technical documentation preparation.
  • Maintain accurate configuration control and documentation.
  • Plan and support Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) activities.
  • Prepare requirements and procedures for safe hardware handling, shipment, and verification.
  • Operate and verify Ground Support Equipment and test facilities during subsystem and system testing.
  • Participate in verification campaigns at AEI and partner sites.
  • Support Product Assurance (PA) activities, including non-conformance tracking and inspections.
  • Contribute to design reviews, test readiness reviews, and acceptance reviews.
  • Support procurement processes and prepare technical specifications.
  • Collaborate closely with industrial partners, space agencies, and internal project teams.

Your Profile

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in engineering, physics, or a related field.
  • Experience in system engineering, testing, verification, or product assurance.
  • Familiarity with ECSS workflows, test automation, or electronics verification.
  • Hands-on experience with laboratory or test equipment is an advantage.
  • Strong communication skills in English (level C1 minimum); German is an asset but not required.
  • Organisational talent and the ability to manage multiple parallel tasks.
  • Structured and careful working style with strong documentation practices.

We Offer

  • An international, collaborative research environment.
  • Work at the forefront of spaceborne gravitational-wave detection.
  • Regular interaction with ESA, DLR, laboratories, and industrial partners.
  • Access to state-of-the-art laboratories and infrastructure.
  • Competitive salary according to the German TVöD Bund guidelines.
  • Initial 2-year contract with the possibility of extension.

How to Apply
Are you interested? Then we look forward to receiving your online application (cover letter, CV, university certificates, letter of recommendation and other supporting documents) without a photo. Please upload your complete application documents combined into a single PDF on our applicant portal:
https://jobs.aei.mpg.de/245/deputy-system-engineer-scientific-instrumentation-for-space-missions/apply

Questions can be directed to the LISA Program Office (lisa-program-office(at)aei.mpg.de).

The applications received will be considered from January 15th, 2026. The advertisement is valid until the position is filled.

Further information
The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability. The Max-Planck-Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. For more information about our institute, please visit https://www.aei.mpg.de/.

Pease find here details.

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Test Engineer at AEI Hannover

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI) is a world-leading research center specializing in gravitational physics, gravitational-wave detection, and precision laser interferometry. With more than 400 employees across its Hannover and Potsdam locations, AEI plays a key role in several major international space missions. For our Hannover location, we are seeking a motivated:

Test Engineer

to support the verification of the LISA Signal Detection Processing Chain, the LISA Phasemeter and the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) used for testing. The LISA mission is a flagship ESA/NASA project designed to detect gravitational waves from space, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to one of the world’s most ambitious scientific endeavors.

Your Duties and Responsibilities
Execute functional and performance tests of the equipment under test according to ECSS standards.

  • Set up, operate, and validate test benches, measurement equipment, and GSE.
  • Maintain, calibrate, and verify AEI’s GSE and testing infrastructure.
  • Analyze test results, document findings, and support troubleshooting.
  • Prepare test procedures, verification documents, and test reports.
  • Collaborate with system engineering, electronics, software teams, and external partners.
  • Support integration and verification campaigns at AEI and partner facilities.
  • Ensure compliance with quality and product assurance procedures.

Your Profile

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in electrical engineering, physics, systems engineering, or a related technical field.
  • Excellent English skills (C1 level minimum); German is an asset but not required.
  • Hands-on experience with laboratory equipment and measurement systems.
  • Structured, detail-oriented working style and strong analytical skills.
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a technical team.
  • Experience with data analysis tools (e.g., Python, MATLAB) is an advantage.
  • Familiarity with precision measurement systems or ECSS standards is beneficial but not required.
  • Motivation to contribute to a major international space mission.

We Offer

  • The opportunity to work on a globally leading space science project.
  • A dynamic, international research environment with highly skilled teams.
  • Hands-on experience with cutting-edge instrumentation and test facilities.
  • Professional development opportunities and room to grow into broader responsibilities.
  • Flexible and supportive working conditions within the Max Planck Society.

How to Apply
Are you interested? Then we look forward to receiving your online application (cover letter, CV, university certificates, letter of recommendation and other supporting documents) without a photo. Please upload your complete application documents combined into a single PDF on our applicant portal:https://jobs.aei.mpg.de/244/test-engineer/apply

Questions can be directed to the LISA Program Office (lisa-program-office(at)aei.mpg.de). 

The applications received will be considered from January 15th, 2026. The advertisement is valid until the position is filled.

Further information
The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability. The Max-Planck-Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. For more information about our institute, please visit https://www.aei.mpg.de/.

Please find here details.

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Open PhD positions at KIT

At KIT, we have several PhD positions available in the field of particle and astroparticle physics (theory and experiment) within our KSETA graduate school. The closing date for applications is February 20, 2026. For more information, please visit our KSETA website.

During the application process, the desired topic(s) and supervisor(s) must be specified. A summary of our research activities within KSETA can be found here. Although ET is not explicitly mentioned in the overarching research activities of ET, there is nevertheless interesting work being done in this field of research, e.g. with regard to multi-messenger astronomy or cryogenic and vacuum technology (potential supervisors could be, e.g., Ralph Engel, Steffen Grohmann, Bernhard Holzapfel, Andreas Haungs). Dedicated topics related to ET can be discussed in detail and agreed upon with the desired supervisors. A motivation letter (no more than two pages long) outlining the candidate’s research interests is a vital part of the application.

The opening is targeted towards excellent international candidates, and there are mobility rules requiring that candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Germany for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the application deadline.

We would be grateful if you could bring this announcement to the attention of any promising candidates you may know.
Of course, the candidates are welcome to contact me and/or Ralph Engel in advance.

Please find here details.

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Postdoc position GW Instrumentation at the University of Antwerp

The Department of Physics in the Faculty of Science is looking for a full-time (100%) postdoctoral scholarship holder in the field of Physics or a related field.

The Particle Physics research group carries out research in particle physics (CMS experiment at CERN LHC) and gravitational waves. Members of the group are involved with Virgo instrumentation, LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA data analysis, and Instrumentation Science with the Einstein Telescope. The University of Antwerp is a founding partner of the ETPathfinder project, and members of the group take part in the instrumentation developments related to this facility in Maastricht. The University of Antwerp is also one of the initial founding research units of the Einstein Telescope Collaboration.

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. Application deadline is 26 February 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 proton 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 skills 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.

Position

  • 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, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, 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 seismic isolation & control, which is also the primary commitment of the University of Antwerp towards the ETpathfinder project. This involves contributions to the construction, installation, and commissioning of position sensors, actuators, mirror tower suspensions, and local control loops. During the second phase of the project you will use your obtained experience in this field to develop training modules (tutorials, etc.) and transfer your knowledge to local industry (SMEs).

Profile

  • You hold a PhD in Physics or a related field from a non-Belgian institution (or you will have obtained it by the time you start work).
  • You are proficient in English language and have 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)
  • Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
  • Your teaching competences are in line with the University of Antwerp’s educational vision.
  • You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.

What we offer

  • We offer a full-time appointment as a postdoctoral scholarship holder for a period of 2-years (1+1 renewable);
  • The planned start date is 1 April 2026 or as soon as possible after that date.
  • Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for postdoctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for Contract Research Staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
  • You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
  • You will do most of your work at the university campus Groenenborger, and at the ETpathfinder facility in Maastricht, Duboisdomein 30 (NL) in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
  • Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.

Want to apply?

  • You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 26 February 2026 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the ‘Apply’ button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following attachments:
  • a motivation letter (with description of past research)
  • your academic CV
  • three letters of reference
  • The selection committee reviews all applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision is made, we will notify you. If you are still eligible after the pre-selection, you will be informed about the possible next step(s) in the selection procedure.
  • If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs(at)uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact dr. Hans Van Haevermaet (hans.vanhaevermaet(at)uantwerpen.be).

Please find here details.

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PhD position in AI-driven inference for gravitational-wave cosmology with LISA at University of Amsterdam

Are you excited by gravitational waves, cosmology, and modern AI-based analysis techniques? Do you enjoy developing new methods and working closely with theorists and LISA instrument and data-analysis teams? Join the GRAPPA research center at the University of Amsterdam to tackle the global analysis of data from the next-generation Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and help shape the future of gravitational-wave cosmology. Closes on February 15th 2026.

We are seeking an enthusiastic PhD candidate to develop cutting-edge, AI-driven inference methods for next-generation gravitational-wave astronomy, with a focus on cosmology and astroparticle physics. The position is based at the University of Amsterdam within the GRAPPA Center of Excellence, where you will join the research group of Dr. Christoph Weniger and work in close collaboration with an international network of theorists, machine-learning and AI experts, and LISA instrument and data-analysis teams, at the interface of fundamental physics and modern data science.

The PhD project is centered on the analysis of data from the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and addresses key challenges such as the global inference of large populations of overlapping gravitational-wave sources and stochastic backgrounds. The ultimate goal is to extract new information about the early Universe and fundamental physics—including inflationary processes, dark matter, and dark energy—from LISA’s rich gravitational-wave data.

What you will do

You will work as part of a strong, collaborative research team on the development and application of AI-based inference methods for gravitational-wave cosmology, focusing on complex, high-dimensional LISA data.

A central element of the project is the use of simulation-based inference (SBI)—a rapidly developing alternative to classical likelihood-based data analysis enabled by recent advances in deep learning. Within the LISA context, these methods are developed in a complementary way to existing likelihood-based and pipeline-driven efforts aimed at achieving a global fit of the data, providing new tools to address LISA’s computational and statistical challenges.

In particular, you will work on sequential, hierarchical, and population-level inference methods for LISA data analysis. Your work will result in publications in leading peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conferences. You will also contribute to open-source research software and participate in the supervision of Bachelor and Master students.

Tasks and responsibilities:

  • Conducting independent research in gravitational-wave cosmology and data analysis, leading to publications in international peer-reviewed journals;
  • Developing and applying AI-driven inference methods for LISA data;
  • Contributing to open-source software for AI-driven gravitational-wave analysis;
  • Presenting research results at international conferences and workshops;
  • Assisting in the supervision of Bachelor and Master students, including co-supervision of theses and tutoring.

Please find here details.