The Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University invites applications for a special endowed research position: the CIERA Board of Visitors Research Associate. The position was created in support of CIERA’s director, currently Prof. Vicky Kalogera. This is a 3-year term position with the possibility of longer-term renewal based on satisfactory performance and the availability of funding. The nominal starting date will be September 1, 2025, but a different start is negotiable depending on the applicant's availability. Application deadline: August 15th, 2025.
The Board of Visitors Research Associate will work closely with the director and will have broad responsibility for maintaining the research program of the Director of CIERA, working on proposals, and interacting with the Board of Visitors. The position is a PhD-level, research associate and science manager position. Named for the CIERA Board of Visitors, whose generous donations fund the role, the position is at a similar level to a postdoctoral associate. Depending on prior experience, the possibility of advancement to the research faculty track is available.
Overall Responsibility: The Research Associate will be responsible for scientific planning and progress tracking, proposal preparation, reporting, outreach, and student mentoring and training. Principal duties and responsibilities include:
Manage the Director’s research group activities, including leading group meetings and managing shared group resources.
Prepare materials for presentations, proposals, reports, and manuscripts with the director and other group members.
Scientific communication, including research presentations at national and international meetings, and public outreach.
Maintain and update documentation on the Director’s and group’s activities, such as publications, funding, and more.
Interface with other relevant groups and efforts at CIERA, other NU centers and departments, and the SkAI Institute, on behalf of the Director’s research group and projects.
Regularly interact with the CIERA BoV members about group and other research news.
Mentor students at different levels of their research studies.
Up to 20% research time, independent or in collaboration with the director’s group members.
This position will be part of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern. Successful applicants will benefit from interaction with a broad interdisciplinary group of researchers and will be immersed in a diverse and dynamic intellectual environment (learn more about CIERA’s programs and activities). The BoV Research Associate will have access to three exclusive high-performance computer clusters, providing access to 6,924 compute cores. Additional HPC resources, including high-memory nodes, are available through Northwestern’s Quest cluster (see ciera.northwestern.edu/high-performance-computing for more information). A dedicated Computational Specialist is also on staff to assist CIERA researchers.
A PhD in Astronomy, Astrophysics, or Physics is required. Background in any of stellar structure and evolution, compact-object astrophysics, gravitational-wave sources and data analysis is highly desired. No formal research program management experience is required, but strong evidence for research excellence, multi-tasking, and organizational skills is highly desired. Must be able to handle a variety of tasks, to effectively solve problems, and to shift priorities as needed. The candidate must be self-motivated, energetic, and able to work independently, bring projects to conclusion, and have the interpersonal skills to work effectively with collaborators, students, administrators, and grant sponsors.
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