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Postdoctoral Scholar - Astronomy

Position overview

Position title: Postdoctoral Scholar
Salary range: The UC postdoc salary scales set the minimum pay determined by experience level at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2024-25/oct-2024-scales/t23.pdf. A reasonable estimate for this position is $66,737 - $80,000.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: Fall 2025

Position duration: 2 years with the possibility of renewal based on performance and availability of funding

Application Window
Open date: October 28, 2024

Next review date: Monday, Dec 16, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Mar 3, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The UC Berkeley center for Multi-messenger Research on Astrophysical Transients and OutReach (Multi-RAPTOR) invites applications for a postdoctoral fellow (Payroll Title: Postdoctoral Scholar - Employee) in time-domain multi-messenger astrophysics. The successful applicant will become part of the vibrant intellectual communities of the UC Berkeley Astronomy and Physics departments, and will pursue independent research to advance our understanding of the dynamic universe using multi-messenger observations, theory, big-data analysis, and/or instrumentation. Multi-RAPTOR faculty affiliates carry out cutting-edge research in a wide area of multi-messenger astrophysics including observations across the electromagnetic spectrum (Raffaella Margutti, Multi-RAPTOR director; Ryan Chornock, Alex Filippenko), AI, machine learning and big-data analysis (Josh Bloom), theory of multi-messenger phenomena (Wenbin Lu, Dan Kasen, Liang Dai), electromagnetic (Jessica Lu) and gravitational wave instrumentation (Victoria Xu).

UC Berkeley has access to the Keck telescopes and Lick Observatory. Amongst other collaborations, Multi-RAPTOR faculty are involved with the La Silla Schmidt Southern Survey (LS4, a new time-domain survey in the southern skies), the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (with focus on gravitational wave sources follow up), the UltraViolet EXplorer (UVEX) and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Multi-RAPTOR faculty have active time-domain programs on a wide range of electromagnetic facilities (including Swift, Chandra, XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, Hubble, JWST, ATCA, VLA), and are leading the First VLBI Survey of Transients (NRAO Large Project).

UC Berkeley researchers have access to high performance computing on the Savio cluster.

This position comes with a travel/research budget of $10,000 per year.

The successful applicant is expected to carry out independent, innovative research in theory, data analysis, and/or instrumentation in the field of multi-messenger astrophysics, under the mentorship of PI Raffaella Margutti. All the faculty affiliated with the Center will serve as mentors as well for the PostDoctoral fellow.

The day-to-day duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Expected activities include: the publication of research results on major journals of the field
• Travel to conferences to present their results and expand their network of collaboration
• In-person interactions with other scientists in the department
• Participation in departmental events of relevance

Labor Contract: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/px/index.html

Savio cluster: https://research-it.berkeley.edu/services-projects/high-performance-computing-savio

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

• A PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in a PhD (or equivalent international degree) program.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

• PhD (or equivalent international degree)
• No more than three years of post-degree research experience by start date

Preferred qualifications

• A PhD degree or equivalent international degree in Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, or a related field is required by the start date.
• Experience with the multimessenger (i.e. light, gravitational waves, neutrinos and/or cosmic rays) data acquisition/reduction/analysis or modeling/interpretation of transients is highly desirable.
• Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Statement of Research - Maximum 3 pages Statement of Research summarizing research interests and professional goals.
• Statement on Contributions to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging - Statement on your contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in research, teaching, and service, including information about your record of activities to date, and plans for contributing if hired at UC Berkeley. More Information and guidelines.
• Curriculum Vitae with Publication List - Your most recently updated C.V., including publication list.

Reference requirements

• 3 letters of reference required

Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04643

Help contact: rmargutti@berkeley.edu

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Job location
Berkeley, CA


To apply, visit https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04643