The Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy & GRAPPA  at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) invites applications for two postdoctoral positions for three and a half years for software development for the small-sized telescope cameras (SSTCAMs)  for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). 

What are you going to do

The software developers will be members of the international SSTCAM consortium, which also includes Dutch efforts toward SSTCAM manufacturing. In the Netherlands SSTCAM developments will take place at the UvA, the University of Groningen and the NOVA submm laboratory. Overall SSTCAM coordination is done by the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPI-K), Heidelberg.

One of the postdoc positions offered concerns the overall software coordination for the SSTCAMs. The other position includes the development of software for reconstruction of the telescope position, in order to obtain accurate source positioning. This project will also include a similar effort for the H.E.S.S. telescopes. Both developers will be part of the X-ray/gamma-ray research group of Dr. Jacco Vink in Amsterdam. Based on the candidate preferences, the position allows for participating at the 20% level in scientific projects, in particular involving H.E.S.S. data analysis and/or CTA simulations. The positions offer the possibility of obtaining a leadership role in the realization of the CTA-South, and provide the prospect to be involved in the first observational data analysis.

What do we require

• A PhD in natural sciences with preference for astrophysics or particle physics.
• Good software coding skills in C++ and Python, Linux/Unix experience.
• Affinity with scientific instrumentation.
• Good communicative and organizational skills.

A temporary contract for 38 hours a week, preferably starting in Spring 2022. The appointment is intended for an initial period of one year, with the possibility for renewal for two and a half more years, with the full tenure provided after a year of satisfactory performance. We have a preference for a start in Spring 2022, for at least one position. But we are flexible for one of the positions.

pending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be  €2,836 to € 4,474 (scale 10) gross per month, based on a fulltime contract (38 hours a week). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

Faculty of Science - Institute for Astronomy

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy furthers research, teaching and public understanding of astronomy. It conducts astronomical research and trains astronomers from bachelor to postdoctoral level, aiming at world-leading levels and activities.

Scientists at FNWI have access to a wide variety of national funding lines at the Dutch research organization NWO, and to European funding lines like ERC grants and FP7 programs and networks. Scientists at UvA have set an interdisciplinary collaborative research and training program on the origins and fundamental aspects of life, as part of the national Origins Center. UvA is also part of the National Astronomy Education Committee (NOVA), the Dutch Top Research School. In this context, the department of Astronomy (the Anton Pannekoek Institute, API) has a long tradition of excellence in astronomical research, including a program on star and planet formation, and exoplanets; it is currently in the process of strengthening its group in origins research.

The Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy furthers research, teaching and public understanding of astronomy. It conducts astronomical research and trains astronomers from bachelor to postdoctoral level, aiming at world-leading levels and activities.