Postdoctoral Research Associate, JASPER Scholar (Steward Observatory)

University of Arizona; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid vacation

Sick leave

Holidays

Tuition reduction

Recreation access

Cultural activities

Job summary

The University of Arizona Steward Observatory invites applications for the JWST/Roman Arizona-Steward Postdocs in Early Galaxies and Reionization (JASPER) Scholar positions, with start dates from August 2027 to November 2027. These roles emphasize collaboration on JWST and Roman programs, feasible independent research time, and opportunities to work with HST and ground-based facilities.

Positions are fully funded with 40-hour weeks, offering full benefits and a path to leading-edge astrophysical

Qualifications

• Must have completed all requirements for a Ph.D. in Astronomy, Physics, Astrophysics, or a related science at the time of hire.
• Preferred: research experience in galaxy formation, quasars, gravitational lensing, and reionization; data reduction experience with JWST/Roman imaging and spectroscopy.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with JWST/Roman projects on galaxy formation, quasars, gravitational lensing, and reionization; perform data analysis using JWST, Roman, HST, ALMA, and other facilities.
• Carry out independent research in galaxy formation, supermassive black holes, quasars, AGN, lensing, and reionization.
• Develop and implement research initiatives, collaborations, publications, and events as needed to advance research agendas.
• Collaborate with faculty and scholars to foster a supportive academic environment; organize meetings, supervise graduate/undergraduate students.

Education

Ph.D. in Astronomy, Physics, Astrophysics, or related science

Job description

Postdoctoral Research Associate, JASPER Scholar (Steward Observatory) (Multiple Positions)

Postdoctoral Research Associate, JASPER Scholar (Steward Observatory) (Multiple Positions)

Posting Number req27194

Department Steward Observatory

Department Website Link https://astro.arizona.edu/

Location Tucson Campus

Address Tucson, AZ USA

Position Highlights

The University of Arizona Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory invites applications for the JWST/Roman Arizona-Steward Postdocs in Early Galaxies and Reionization (JASPER) Scholar positions.

The University of Arizona is a center of JWST and Roman Space Telescope research. In the area of early galaxy formation and reionization, Arizona scientists are leading a wide range of JWST and Roman programs to study the first galaxies, high-redshift quasars and supermassive black hole evolution, early large-scale structures, the intergalactic medium, gravitational lensing, and cosmic reionization.

JASPER Scholars are expected to collaborate with one or more JWST/Roman science teams. They will fully participate in data reduction and scientific analysis in these programs as well as in complimentary programs using HST and ground-based telescopes. JASPER Scholars are also encouraged to conduct their independent research programs with up to 50% of their research time. For one of the positions, we are particularly interested in candidates who can contribute to the analysis of cluster-lensing data (e.g., VENUS, Dragon Arc).

The University of Arizona Steward Observatory offers a world-class research environment in space science and astrophysics with strong interdisciplinary programs across the Departments of Astronomy, Physics, Optical Sciences, and Planetary Sciences. We provide direct access to various world-class observational and computational facilities for ground-based radio and optical observing.

Start dates range from August 2027 to November 2027.

Benefits

• health, dental, vision, and life insurance
• paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members
• access to U of A recreation and cultural activities
• and more!

Duties & Responsibilities

• Collaborate with one or more of the JWST and Roman projects on galaxy formation, quasars, gravitational lensing, and reionization, to work on data and scientific analysis as well as using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, ALMA and other telescopes.
• Carry out independent research in the areas of galaxy formation, supermassive black holes, quasars and AGN, gravitational lensing, and reionization.
• Develop and implement research initiatives, collaborations, publications, and/or events (e.g., talks, workshops, visitor programs, etc.) as needed and relevant to research agendas.
• Collaborate with faculty and scholars to foster a supportive academic environment (including organizing collaborative meetings, supervising/mentoring graduate and undergraduate students).
• Additional duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Must have completed all the requirements for a Ph.D. in Astronomy, Physics, Astrophysics, or a related science at the time of hire.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience relevant to one or more of the following scientific areas: galaxy evolution, supermassive black holes, intergalactic medium, quasars and AGN, gravitational lensing and data reduction experience with JWST or Roman imaging and spectroscopy.

FLSA

Exempt

Full Time/Part Time

Full Time

Number of Hours Worked per Week

40

Job FTE

1.0

Work Calendar

Fiscal

Job Category

Research

Benefits Eligible

Yes - Full Benefits

Rate of Pay

NIH Salary Guidelines, Depends on Experience

Compensation Type

salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)

Type of criminal background check required:

Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)

Number of Vacancies

2

Target Hire Dates

August 2027 - November 2027

Expected End Date

Open Date

10/5/2026

Open Until Filled

Yes

Contact Information for Candidates

Xiaohui Fan, Ph.D.
Regents Professor of Astronomy
Astronomer, Steward Observatory
Associate Department Head
[e-mail]

OR

Eiichi Egami, Ph.D.
Research Professor, Steward Observatory
[e-mail]

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