ORIGINS Long-Term Postdoc in JWST Exoplanet Science (3+1 years)

Submission Information
Publish Date: 
Monday, December 20, 2021
Archive Date: 
Monday, March 7, 2022
Job Summary
Job Category: 
Post-doctoral Positions and Fellowships
Institution Classification/Type: 
Large Academic
Institution/Company: 
Ludwig Maximilian University
Department Name: 
Faculty of Physics
Street Line 1: 
University Observatory Munich
Street Line 2: 
Scheinerstrasse 1
City: 
Munich
State/Province: 
Bavaria
Zip/Postal: 
D-81679
Country: 
Germany
Announcement
Job Announcement Text: 

The ORIGINS Excellence Cluster (https://www.origins-cluster.de/) and the Faculty of Physics of the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich, Germany, are seeking candidates for a long-term ORIGINS Postdoc in exoplanet science (3+1 years).  Specifically, with the advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2021/2022 we seek an expert in observational spectroscopy who has experience in the analysis and interpretation of data that is relevant in the JWST era.  Candidates are expected to have obtained their Ph.D within the last 5 years (i.e., no earlier than 1st January 2018).  LMU is one of the oldest universities in Germany and consistently ranked in the top three nation-wide; its Faculty of Physics has a storied history of hosting Nobel laureates, including Planck and Heisenberg.  The successful candidate is expected to participate actively in all ORIGINS-related activities and contribute to fulfilling its scientific milestones.

The successful candidate is dynamic, independent, communicative, collaborative and able to integrate into the newly established "Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics of Extrasolar Planets" (Chair Professor: Kevin Heng).  This is an intellectual ecosystem consisting of two well-established planet formation groups (led by Prof. Barbara Ercolano and Prof. Til Birnstiel), as well as four staff scientists (A13/A14 level) in the theory and simulation of exoplanetary atmospheres (Dr. Daniel Kitzmann); exoplanet astronomy and data science (Dr. Brett Morris); climate modelling and computational fluid dynamics (search ongoing); and planetary and molecular geoscience (search ongoing).  The Chair is part of the University Observatory Munich (USM), which will be composed of 5 Chairs over the next few years (Profs. Bender, Burkert, Gruen, Heng, Mohr).  There is the possibility to collaborate with researchers within the ORIGINS Excellence Cluster (e.g. Prof. Dieter Braun: geophysics and origins of life; Prof. Andi Burkert: computational astrophysics) as well as with external collaborators Dr. Jens Hoeijmakers (high-resolution spectroscopy; Lund), Prof. Steve Mojzsis (planetary geochemistry; Budapest), Dr. Chloe Fisher (atmospheric retrieval; Oxford), Dr. Shang-Min Tsai (theoretical atmospheric chemistry; Oxford) and Prof. Nathalie Carrasco (experimental atmospheric chemistry; Paris).  The Chair also has deep ties to exoplanet researchers at the University of Warwick in the U.K. (via an honorary professorship awarded to Prof. Heng).  In addition to an individual annual research budget, there is ample funding for computational resources, travel, page charges, etc, within the Chair.

Only applications that respect the following format will be reviewed: a cover letter (1 page; listing the applicant's email address and the names of three letter writers), a research statement of past, present and future activities (maximum of 5 pages), a CV (maximum of 2 pages) and a publication list (no limit, but longer is not always better), as well as three letters of recommendation that should be directly emailed to Kevin.Heng 'at' physik.lmu.de.  Except for the letters, all components of the application should be merged into a single PDF file labelled "[last name].pdf", where [last name] should be replaced by the last name of the applicant (all lower case alphabets), and emailed to the same address.  The application deadline is 28th February 2022 (Monday).  The start date is negotiable.

The appointment will be made for 3+1 years, subjected to German labour laws, at the TV-L E13 or E14 level of the German civil service.  The bonus 4th year is contingent upon a positive performance review.  The minimum pre-tax salary is about 50,000 euros per year, depending on the past experience of the successful candidate (https://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/tv-l/allg/).  LMU Munich is an equal opportunity employer (https://www.lmu.de/en/about-lmu/working-at-lmu/academic-careers/equal-op...).  Disabled candidates with essentially equal qualifications will be given preference.

Application Deadline: 
Monday, February 28, 2022
Selection Deadline: 
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Current Status of Position: 
Accepting Applicants
Apply to Job
Attention To: 
Kevin Heng
Title: 
Chair Professor (Lehrstuhlinhaber)
Institution/Company: 
Ludwig Maximilian University
Department Name: 
Faculty of Physics
Street Line 1: 
University Observatory Munich
Street Line 2: 
Scheinerstrasse 1
City: 
Munich
State/Province: 
Bavaria
Zip/Postal Code: 
D-81679
Country: 
Germany
Inquiries About Job
Attention To: 
Prof. Kevin Heng
Subject: 
Long-term ORIGINS Postdoc in JWST Exoplanet Science