Postodoctoral Fellow

1000scholars; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

1000scholars invites postdoctoral researchers to join the SCEECS Collaboration on Extreme Electrodynamics of Compact Sources. Fellowships run for up to three years with competitive salaries and benefits, starting in Fall 2027, with some flexibility for earlier starts.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in astronomy or physics before the appointment and provide a CV, publication list, and a 3-page research statement, plus three letters of recommendation.

Qualifications

• Must have a Ph.D. in astronomy or physics before starting the appointment.
• Provide a curriculum vitae with publication list and a 3-page research statement.
• Three letters of recommendation should be submitted.
• Applicants should indicate preferred institutions to hold a fellowship.

Responsibilities

• Develop an original research program within SCEECS.
• Join ongoing projects and collaborate with Principal Investigators and collaborators.
• Contribute to the theory and understanding of neutron stars, black holes, and related physics across multiple institutions.

Skills

CV and publications

Research statement

Three letters of recommendation

Education

Ph.D. in astronomy or physics

Job description

Position Description

The Simons Collaboration on Extreme Electrodynamics of Compact Sources (SCEECS) is advertising several SCEECS Fellowships for postdoctoral researchers working in fields relevant to the collaboration. The positions will be for up to 3 years and will offer competitive salaries and benefits. Most appointments are anticipated to begin in the fall of 2027, though earlier start dates can be entertained, if appropriate.

SCEECS is a multi-national, collaboration that focuses on the theory of neutron stars and black holes, building on recent astrophysical discoveries and upcoming experimental opportunities that confront classical and quantum electrodynamics with new challenges. With a highly synergistic research approach, we are addressing these challenges by following a methodology that is both "bottom up" and "top down" to span a vast range of length scales. These approaches involve the physics of collisionless relativistic plasmas (including in strong QED fields), relativistic magnetohydrodynamics and the physics of dense matter of relevance to the interior of neutron stars. We encourage candidates with expertise in any of these and neighboring physics subfields to apply. The new postdoctoral researchers will be able to join ongoing projects within the collaboration and develop their own, original, research programs.

The Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators collaborating on SCEECS are Roger Blandford ([e-mail]), Director, and Sasha Philippov ([e-mail]), Deputy Director, Stanford; Richard Anantua ([e-mail]), U Texas, San Antonio; Matt Caplan ([e-mail]), Illinois State; Ke Fang ([e-mail]) and Ellen Zweibel ([e-mail]), U. Wisconsin; Noémie Globus ([e-mail]), UNAM-Institute of Astronomy, Ensenada; Sam Gralla ([e-mail]), Arizona; Andrei Beloborodov ([e-mail]), Yuri Levin ([e-mail]) and Lorenzo Sironi ([e-mail]), Columbia; Amir Levinson ([e-mail]), Tel Aviv; Tsvi Piran ([e-mail]), Hebrew University; Chris Thompson ([e-mail]) and Bart Ripperda ([e-mail]), U. Toronto; Eliot Quataert ([e-mail]) and Anatoly Spitkovsky ([e-mail]), Princeton; and Yajie Yuan, Washington University at St Louis ([e-mail]). Applications made in response to this advertisement, as well as those made through the institutions of collaborating investigators that designate SCEECS, will be considered by the entire collaboration.

Candidates for these positions should have, or expect to receive, a Ph.D. in astronomy or physics prior to starting their appointment. They should provide a curriculum vitae, including a publication list and a 3-page statement of research interests and plans, and arrange to have three letters of recommendation submitted. In addition, applicants should indicate the preferred institutions to hold a fellowship. Upon consultation with a successful candidate, some appointments will be held at more than one institution. We also encourage applicants to follow the structure of the AAS advice on the content of CVs and research statements given here: https://jobregister.aas.org/postdoc-application-guidelines

The deadline for applications, through AcademicJobsOnline, is November 15, 2026. Late applications will be considered at the discretion of the search committee. More information about SCEECS can be found at https://www.simonsceecs.com/

Informal enquiries about these positions can be directed to [e-mail].