Postdoctoral Position

The Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching (near Munich), Germany, is one of the world’s leading institutes in astrophysics, combining hardware development with observations, data analysis, laboratory and theoretical work. Among others, MPE is one of the contributing partners for the European (ESA) INTEGRAL Gamma-Ray Observatory satellite mission. The spectrometer on INTEGRAL (SPI), one of the two main gamma-ray instruments, is a collaborative project between CESR Toulouse and MPE as PI-institutes. MPE provided the anticoincidence system (ACS) of SPI.

Applications are invited for an INTEGRAL support position in the High-Energy Astrophysics Group of the MPE. Researchers with a PhD in Physics/Astrophysics and with experience in high-energy astrophysics are encouraged to apply. The overarching task is to support the operation of the SPI instrument, including the regular annealings, monitoring the instrument health, maintaining the data and calibration archive at MPE, and pre-processing of the SPI data to ease its scientific use by the German community. Up to 50% of the time is available for own science projects, preferentially those including INTEGRAL/SPI data.

The position is funded through the German Space Agency (DLR). The position is available starting January 1st, 2022 and will be for 3 years, with the possibility of extension depending on ESA’s extension of the INTEGRAL mission.

We offer a very challenging and rewarding international field of work with state-of-the-art technology. The remuneration is based on the German collective wage agreement for the public sector (TVöD) depending on experience. Social benefits are granted according to the regulations for public service.

Applicants should submit their documents (in English, and in PDF form) online (https://recruitingapp-5257.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/451/Application/CheckLogin/2?lang=eng ) including a CV, a list of publications, and a brief (~1 page) description of research interests by September 15st, 2021. Three letters of reference should also be sent to Jochen Greiner ([email protected]) by the application deadline. The review will begin immediately after that date, but later applications may be considered if received before the selection process is completed.

More information is available at https://www.mpe.mpg.de/gamma/INTEGRAL ; informal scientific enquiries about the position may be addressed to Jochen Greiner ([email protected]).

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.

Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.