We invite applications for one or more postdoctoral research positions at the intersection of machine learning and dark matter phenomenology, particle cosmology and gravitational waves. The positions will start in Fall 2022 and will be initially for two years, with a possible extension by another year contigent depending on the availability of funding. Successful applicants will work in the research group of Dr. Christoph Weniger, and are encouraged to participate in the vibrant research environment of Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA). Through the University of Amsterdam (UvA), they will receive access to major Dutch computing facilities.  Research results are expected to be disseminated through scientific publications, conference presentations and/or software distributions. 

The research group of Dr. Christoph Weniger aims at finding signals of physics beyond the Standard Model using a wide range of astrophysical observations. Focus is given to new observational approaches and technical challenges that others have not been able to overcome. The group has strong ties to the Dutch eScience center and AMLab, and is part of the GRAPPA cluster of excellence. More details can be found here.

We invite applications for one or more postdoctoral research positions at the intersection of machine learning and dark matter phenomenology, particle cosmology and gravitational waves. The positions will start in Fall 2022 and will be initially for two years, with a possible extension by another year contigent depending on the availability of funding. Successful applicants will work in the research group of Dr. Christoph Weniger, and are encouraged to participate in the vibrant research environment of Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA). Through the University of Amsterdam (UvA), they will receive access to major Dutch computing facilities.  Research results are expected to be disseminated through scientific publications, conference presentations and/or software distributions. 

The research group of Dr. Christoph Weniger aims at finding signals of physics beyond the Standard Model using a wide range of astrophysical observations. Focus is given to new observational approaches and technical challenges that others have not been able to overcome. The group has strong ties to the Dutch eScience center and AMLab, and is part of the GRAPPA cluster of excellence. More details can be found here.

GRAPPA is connected to the Institute of Physics (IoP)  and the Anton Pannekoek Institute at the UvA as well as Nikhef. GRAPPA researchers have wide research interests, including dark matter phenomenology, cosmic rays, high-energy astrophysics, cosmology, black holes physics, gravitational waves, and string theory. It also includes experimental physicists active in the Antares/KM3NeT, ATLAS, CTA, LOFAR, and XENON1T collaborations.

What are you going to do

You will work in the group of Dr. Christoph Weniger, and be embedded in the GRAPPA Center of excellence in Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics, a multidisciplinary team of researchers active in a variety of research topics including dark matter, compact objects, high-energy astrophysics and physics beyond the standard model.

What do we require of you

• You have a PhD in physics.
• You are able to work independently and to collaborate in an collegial multidisciplinary research environment.
• You have demonstrated abilities in theoretical physics, software and algorithm development, and/or astrophysical modelling.

A temporary contract for 38  hours per week, preferably starting in the Fall of 2021 for the duration of two years (with possible extension of a third year depending on the availability of funding).

Your salary, depending on your relevant experience on commencement of the employment contract, ranges between €2,836 to €4,474  (scale 10) gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% year-end allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU) 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 - Institute of Physics

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 mission of the Institute of Physics (IoP) is to carry out excellent research in the field of experimental and theoretical physics, to provide inspiring teaching within the physics and other curricula and to transfer our knowledge of and enthusiasm for physics to society. The IoP has over 50 faculty and 180 researchers in total. The combination with the NWO Institutes at Amsterdam Science Park constitutes the largest physics hub in the Netherlands and is an international centre of excellence.