The Institute for Subatomic and Gravitational Wave Physics at Utrecht University invites applications for a PhD position in gravitational wave data analysis and searches, with an emphasis on searches for gravitational wave signals from coalescing binary neutron stars and black holes. This effort is led by Dr  Sarah Caudill as a part of the new gravitational waves team at Utrecht University with Prof Chris Van Den Broeck and Dr Tanja Hinderer. Apart from collaboration within the Institute for Subatomic and Gravitational Wave Physics, the gravitational waves team at Utrecht University has close ties with Researchers at universities and institutes across the Netherlands, which apart from Instrumentalists includes Astronomers, Astrophysicists, and Theorists. There is also vibrant collaboration with individuals and groups around the world. The successful candidate will become a member of the Virgo Collaboration and has access to all data from the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo interferometers.

The successful candidate is an ambitious student who:

• holds a Master’s degree in Physics, Astronomy, or a related field;
• has a background in programming with some research experience;
• has scientific writing and English collaboration and communication skills;
• has the motivation to work in a multidisciplinary, international research team.

• access to a network of top Gravitational Wave researchers;
• a full-time position for 4 years, the gross salary starts at €2,325 and increases to €2,972 per month during the appointment (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (cao)). The salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% per year;
• pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions (based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities).

In addition to the employment conditions laid down in the cao for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. For example, there are agreements on professional development, leave arrangements and sports. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment yourself via the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we like to encourage you to continue to grow.

More information about working at the Faculty of Science can be found here. 

The Institute for Subatomic and Gravitational Wave Physics at Utrecht University conducts fundamental research into the nature of matter and gravity. We are part of the ALICE experiment at the CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva (Switzerland) and the Advanced Virgo experiment based in Cascina, Italy. We closely collaborate with the Nikhef institute in Amsterdam.

At the Faculty of Science there are 6 departments to make a fundamental connection with: Biology, Chemistry, Information and Computing Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Physics. Each of them is made up of distinct institutes which work together to focus on answering some of humanity’s most pressing problems. More fundamental still are the individual research groups - the building blocks of our ambitious scientific projects.

Utrecht University is a friendly and ambitious university at the heart of an ancient city. We love to welcome new scientists to our city – a thriving cultural hub that is consistently rated as one of the world’s happiest cities. We are renowned for our innovative interdisciplinary research and our emphasis on inspirational research and excellent education. We are equally well-known for our familiar atmosphere and the can-do attitude of our people. This fundamental connection attracts Researchers, Professors and PhD candidates from all over the globe, making both the University and the Faculty of Science a vibrant international and wonderfully diverse community.