Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 3 years in the first instance.
The Institute of Astronomy (IoA), located at the West Cambridge site, expects to appoint a postdoctoral researcher in the IoA's observational and theoretical astrophysics programmes. The appointment could be made in areas of: near-field cosmology; accretion discs; formation and evolution of galaxies, supermassive black holes and AGN; quasar absorption lines and the intergalactic medium; studies of clusters of galaxies and active galaxies; feedback processes; cosmological hydrodynamic simulations; emergence of structure during the epoch of reionization.
The successful applicant will be expected to pursue research within the context of the overall programme and develop a high degree of interaction with the faculty, postdoctoral researchers and research students; to conduct a highly competitive programme of scientific research, prepare proposals to secure research resources (for example, access to high-performance computing, telescopes, or other international facilities) and write scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Applicants must have excellent communication and computing skills.
Applicants must have a PhD in astronomy or a related field or be near to completion. Successful candidates who have been awarded their PhD by the appointment date will be appointed as a Research Associate, Grade 7 (£32,816 to £40,322 per annum). Those who have not will be appointed as a Research Assistant at Grade 5 (£26,715 to £30,942 per annum) then promoted upon award of the PhD.
The University of Cambridge thrives on the diversity of its staff and students. Applications from underrepresented groups are particularly welcome. We have an active Equality and Diversity Committee which continually works to further the aims of the Athena SWAN charter. The University has a number of family- friendly policies and initiatives, including a returning-carer scheme, childcare costs support, university workplace nurseries, university holiday play-schemes, and a shared parental-leave policy. As part of its commitment to providing a family-friendly environment for researchers, the IoA ensures that should parental leave be needed during the course of employment, there is provision for extension to contract to compensate for the parental leave taken.