Applications are invited for a postdoctoral researcher at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in The Netherlands to work in Assistant Professor in Silvia Toonen’s group on stellar evolution, interactions and transients. The primary responsibility of the position is to lead research projects in the area of triple star evolution.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar who is interested in advancing this novel research field.

The successful applicant will contribute to several current research programs using modelling and observations to probe the outcomes of triple evolution. The multidisciplinary program bridges research areas such as stellar and binary evolution, gravitational wave progenitors, massive stars and stellar dynamics. In this position the Postdoc will use and advance an array of tools dedicated to probe interacting triples and learn more about their nature, origins, and potential as gravitational wave sources. The Postdoctoral Scholar will primarily work on projects from a NWO-VIDI grant ('TRI-Waves; the formation of gravitational wave sources from triple-star systems') and will have the opportunity to join existing other projects

What are you going to do

• You will be a member of a research group of Assistant Professor Silvia Toonen that is located at the Astronomy Institute (API) of the UvA
• You will work at the Anton Pannekoek Institute (API) in close collaboration with Silvia Toonen and her team on the evolution of triple-star systems;
• You will join the NWO-VIDI grant project entitled 'TRI-Waves; the formation of gravitational wave sources from triple-star systems'.
• You will conduct research with faculty members, Postdocs, Masters and PhD students;
• You will work with detailed and fast stellar evolution modelling, keeping a close link to observations where possible;
• You will be part of a stimulating and challenging environment.

What do we require

• A PhD degree in astrophysics or related field on arrival.
• Previous experience with stellar or binary evolution modelling is preferred but not required.
• The ability and willingness to collaborate and adapt in a team.
• Good communication skills in oral and written English.

The starting date of July 2022 is negotiable, but preferably before November 2022.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours a week, preferably starting on 1 July 2022. The appointment is intended for an initial period of two years, with renewal for a third year contingent upon satisfactory progress.

The salary, depending 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.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science - Anton Pannekoek 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.

Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API) 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.