Carnegie-Princeton Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Department of Astrophysical Sciences of Princeton University invite applications for a four-year postdoctoral fellowship in astronomy, to begin in fall 2021. The fellow is expected to work two years at the main offices of the Observatories in Pasadena and two years at Princeton (one-year term renewed annually at a rank of Postdoctoral Research Associate or more senior research position), in an order to be negotiated with the applicant. The Carnegie-Princeton Fellow is expected to carry out original research in any area of astronomy or astrophysics, either independently or in collaboration with staff, faculty or students at the host institutions. The principal selection criteria will be outstanding research accomplishments and promise of future achievement. Preference will be given to researchers working in those areas in which Carnegie and Princeton have active research interests.

The fellow will have access to all of the resources and facilities of both institutions. In particular: The Carnegie Institution owns and operates the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, which includes the twin 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes, and the 2.5-meter Dupont and 1.0-meter Swope telescopes. Carnegie is also a full institutional member of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV and V. Based in Pasadena, between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, the Observatories provide an exceptional intellectual environment and access to resources for theorists, observers, and instrumentalists alike. The Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton is a major partner in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the Simons Observatory, and the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time. The department is collaborating with the Japanese astronomical community on large imaging and spectroscopic surveys with the Subaru Telescope, focused on extragalactic astronomy (the Hyper Suprime-Cam survey). In addition, we are heavily involved in planning for the Prime Focus Spectrograph Survey. The successful applicant will have the right to join all these surveys. Carnegie-Princeton Fellows will also have access to the extensive Princeton research computing facilities. These include a variety of high-performance (petaflop) clusters with both CPUs and GPUs, large shared-memory systems for data analysis and visualization, and multiple petabytes of data storage. Together with research groups in other departments in the university and the nearby Institute for Advanced Study, the department offers an unparalleled environment for research in theoretical and observational astrophysics and cosmology.

The position provides support for observing, travel, computing and publications, and the observing and computational facilities will be accessible for the entire duration of the position. Applications from members of groups historically under-represented in Astrophysics are especially encouraged.

Further information on the host institutions is available at obs.carnegiescience.edu and www.princeton.edu/astro.

Applicants must send curriculum vitae, bibliography, and research plan to BOTH the Observatories and to Princeton via the web at http://www.obs.carnegiescience.edu/fellowships/  AND https://www.princeton.edu/acad-positions/position/17501 by November 6, 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Applications to BOTH institutions should include: a cv, a bibliography, a brief essay describing the applicant's current research (up to 3 pages including references), and a research proposal (up to 5 pages including references); shorter statements are acceptable. Both departments share a goal of making the field more equitable and inclusive. With this in mind, we will take into consideration personal experiences as well as efforts in education, outreach or other service activities related to astrophysics or other sciences that demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Applicants are invited to describe such experiences and evidence of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the cover letter.

The names and contact information of three references should also be submitted through both of the online application systems. Letters are requested within a week of the deadline. Selection of the successful candidate will be made by a joint Carnegie-Princeton committee. All applicants will automatically be considered for all postdoctoral positions in the Astrophysical Sciences department at Princeton and for the Carnegie Fellowship at The Observatories; however, they should clearly state in the cover letter that they wish to be considered for the Carnegie-Princeton Fellowship. A PhD in Astronomy or a related field is required.

This position is subject to Princeton University’s background check policy. Princeton University and the Carnegie Observatories are equal opportunity employers and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

For questions or additional information, please send email to [email protected] and/or [email protected]. For additional information on the fellowship program at Carnegie, please visit: http://www.obs.carnegiescience.edu/fellowships.