Postdoctoral Research Fellow, NAOJ ALMA Project

ALMA is a partnership of East Asia, Europe, and North America in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The NAOJ ALMA Project invites applications for a few Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions to carry out cutting edge science using ALMA and to support the operation of ALMA. Duty station is NAOJ in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, with possible business trips to Chile, Europe, North America, Taiwan, and/or Korea.

Successful candidates will work on scientific research related to ALMA. We welcome candidates who are eager to collaborate with researchers at NAOJ as well as the broader community members. They are also expected to work on the ALMA science operations (e.g. data reduction, software development, user support on generating observing procedures and help desk), or development (hardware or software). In addition, the candidates will be involved in promoting scientific activities such as organization and support of science workshops.

The term starts on April 1, 2020 or October 1, 2020, and it is for three years, including the probation period of six months. Annual performance review will be conducted. At the end of the contract term, there is the possibility of extending the contract up to two years, based on a review. If the successful candidates had been the project research fellow of NAOJ or the Researcher (Part-time Contract Employee) before, then the term may be adjusted so that the total length of employment does not exceed five years.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. degree, or are expected to obtain the degree by the starting date. A good command of English language is essential. Fluency in Japanese will be preferable, but not required.

Application documents must be prepared in English, and must include (1) cover letter, (2) curriculum vitae, (3) summary of research activities in the past, (4) list of publications (separate refereed and non-refereed papers), (5) outline of research plans (include both the plan of your own scientific research and the plan for contribution to the observatory duties), (6) two or more reference letters. Please ask your references to upload the letters directly to an NAOJ’s application system before the deadline. 

Applications are accepted from 0:00 JST on November 15, 2019 to the deadline which is 12:00 JST on December 26, 2019.

Applicants are required to apply via the NAOJ’s application system on the web:
https://jobregister.nao.ac.jp/
Please fill out the form on the web and upload the documents specified on the application form. If it takes time to prepare the documents, applicants should be issued applicant ID and reference IDs in advance. Reference letters should be uploaded by persons who have written the letter for you directly, following the instruction shown on the application form. Reference IDs and passwords are required to upload reference letters, so please inform references of the issued reference IDs and passwords. The application documents should be converted to PDF (max 50MB each, 100MB in total, at most 10 files).

For inquiries, please contact
postdoc.inquiry _at_ alma.mtk.nao.ac.jp (replace _at_ with @)

The fellow will receive a monthly salary of 350,000 JPY plus compensation for commuting expenses (up to 55,000 JPY per month), and annual research funds of 500,000 JPY. Social insurance will be applied. Bonus and retirement allowances are not provided. The travel and relocation costs to NAOJ will be covered, subject to the travel regulations of NINS (the details have to be arranged with the administration office). The qualification to apply for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research is given.

Candidates selected in the final short list may be interviewed by the selection committee either via internet or face-to-face. The expense for travel to the interview will not be covered by NAOJ. Abiding by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act for Men and Women, NAOJ is committed to the realization of a society with gender equality. If two candidates are deemed equal in their performance evaluation, NAOJ will take positive action to employ women (see http://open-info.nao.ac.jp/danjokyodo/). Information submitted in your application documents will not be used for any purpose other than the selection process and for contacting you with necessary notices in connection with the selection. Once the selection process is complete, we will securely dispose of all application documents and personal information, except for those submitted by the successful candidates.