SEVERO OCHOA Postdoctoral Fellowship in COSMOLOGY

The IAC (Tenerife, Spain) invites applications for ONE Postdoctoral contract to work on topics of “Astrostatistics of the cosmological large-scale structure”. This contract is financed by the "SEVERO OCHOA PROGRAM" (SEV-2015-0548), supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. It follows the selection of the IAC as a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence by the Spanish Government in 2015, a prestigious recognition awarded for the second time to the IAC as a leading research institute in Spain.

Research topics at the IAC include most areas of astrophysics: solar physics, planetary systems, stellar and interstellar physics, galactic formation and evolution, and cosmology and astroparticles. These research lines are supported by an ambitious instrumentation program. Further information about the IAC's research programme, its Observatories and the 10.4m GTC is available at the IAC's web page (http://www.iac.es/).

Duties: The selected person will actively participate in the international collaboration Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Tasks will include the development of flux calibration algorithms and participation in the scientific verification of the DESI instrument. The job could involve observational campaigns and commissioning on the Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. 

Position requirements: Candidates must have experience in research in the field of cosmology or stellar spectroscopy. A good record of publications and participation in international projects will be valued. 

Qualification requirements: To be eligible for admission, applicants must have obtained a Ph.D. degree in Astrophysics or Physics, within the application deadline (December 31, 2017). A copy of your degree or corresponding stamped certificate (issued on behalf of the University where you have obtained the degree), must be included.  If the applicant has not completed the Ph.D. degree within the application deadline, will not be considered.

Merits to value:

Section A:

• Scientific and technical contributions to your field of research.
• Scientific publications, in quality and quantity, collected in the Science Citation Index (SCI), paper in conferences; teaching tasks, scientific activity committees, scientific conference committees, conference organization, journal referee and stays in other centres.

Maximum score: 60 points.

Section B:

Adequacy of training and experience of the candidate to the contract he/she is applying for:

• Cosmology, astrophysics
• Data mining techniques, analysis of data from galaxy surveys
• Flux calibration, analysis of stellar spectra
• Observational spectroscopy

Maximum score: 40 points.

In order to guarantee coverage of the effective equality of men and women, and developing the provisions of the Second Plan of Equality of the IAC, the merit values will be measured when certain documented situations exist, which can be presumed that they may diminish the performance of the personnel, with the aim that they do not detract from the evaluation of the career of each applicant. In any case, the following are considered to be special situations:

• Maternity, up to 18 months after the date of birth or adoption.
• Paternity, enjoyed as provided by Social Security, for the duration of the corresponding permit.
• Severe illness or accident with medical leave for a minimum of 3 months.
• Care for dependents for a minimum period of 3 months, as provided by Law 39/2006.
• Work Permits for care of dependent children or adults.

Training: Those candidates who have done their Ph.D. research at the IAC must have undertaken a period of training at other research centres. This period must consist of either one continuous year or 18 accumulated months (including periods of training during their doctoral period).

Duration: The appointment will be for a period of 1.5 years. The starting date should be prior to July 1, 2018.

Remuneration: The gross annual salary is 33,547 Euros, subject to up to 20% tax and Social Security deductions (depending on the personal situation of the candidate). Medical insurance under the Spanish National Health Service will be provided for the candidate and will also cover spouse or registered partner (de facto partner) and children (if relevant).

Relocation allowance: This call includes a relocation allowance only for the selected candidate comprising: the cost of your flight ticket (booked and issued by the IAC), your stay for up to two weeks (organised by the IAC) and per diem rate up to two weeks.  The maximum IAC will reimburse is 2,000 Euros.

Non-UE citizens: Applicants who are not citizen of a country belonging to the European Union are invited to apply for this position, but, if selected, will be allowed to sign the contract with the IAC only after obtaining the compulsory documentation required to live and work in Spain.

How to apply: use the online application system, http://www.iac.es/jobs/research/, including the required information and documents. Alternatively, follow the instructions in the official announcement (only in Spanish).

The required documentation must be submitted using the online application system and received by the application deadline. The application form, CV, publication list, statements of research interests and suitability for the position, copy of the Ph.D. degree, and copy of the national identity or passport should be merged into a single PDF file.

Late applications or those that do not include the mandatory application form (Annex I), will not be considered. In case of incomplete applications, the applicant will have a period of five (5) days, starting from the day after publication of the provisional list of accepted and excluded candidates, to provide the missing documentation.